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Patriots: Josh Norman getting rocked by Derrick Henry reminds fans of Cam Newton incident

By Jerry Trotta

CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 03: Josh Norman #24 and Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers congratulate each other on their 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals after their NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Bank of America Stadium on January 3, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - JANUARY 03: Josh Norman #24 and Cam Newton #1 of the Carolina Panthers congratulate each other on their 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals after their NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Bank of America Stadium on January 3, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Josh Norman getting pummeled by Titans RB Derrick Henry reminded Patriots fans about Cam Newton’s incident with the Bills cornerback.

The NFL decided to move forward with the Week 6 matchup between the Titans and Bills after the Tennessee reported no positive COVID-19 tests leading up to the game.

Considering how little practice time the Titans were able to get in over the last two weeks amid their COVID-19 outbreak, it was downright shocking to see them dominate an undefeated Buffalo team as throughly as they did. Despite having just three days of walkthrough practices by the time their facilities reopened before Tuesday night, the Titans came away with a 42-16 victory.

There were a plethora of highlights for Tennessee, but the most noteworthy of the bunch came when Derrick Henry stiff-armed Josh Norman into oblivion on a punishing run in the second quarter.

How embarrassing was this play for the Bills cornerback? Well, let’s just say that it reminded football fans of his altercation with Patriots quarterback Cam Newton during a Panthers training camp practice back in 2015.

The side-by-side shots of Norman getting tossed are absolutely priceless.

https://twitter.com/PabloEscobarner/status/1316198523533230080?s=20

Henry’s monstrous stiff arm on Norman was almost a carbon copy of Newton pummeling him during their scuffle, which was fueled after the former All-Pro corner intercepted a pass off the former MVP.

In fairness to Norman, it what this sort of fearlessness that led to his emergence as one of the league’s top cornerbacks for a two-year stretch in 2015 and 2016. However, as an undersized defensive back, he simply has to know better than to go high when trying to tackle the Titans’ 6-foot-3, 247-pound behemoth of a running back.

Again, we admire Norman’s willingness to meet Henry in the open field, but we also aren’t the least bit surprised that this was the result.

My goodness. We honestly wouldn’t have blamed Norman if he became the second player in Bills history to retire at halftime.

On the other side of the spectrum, Norman confronting a player in Newton, who is one of the most physically imposing signal callers of all time at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, was yet another poor business decision on his part.

We don’t care that the incident happened when Newton was still in Carolina. Patriots fans have every reason to get even more amped for Week 6 after being reminded of him treating Norman like a rag doll. That’s the kind of fire Pats fans love to see from their players.

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