Patriots: Boston radio host’s Cam Newton stat is scathing
By Jerry Trotta
Patriots QB Cam Newton is finding it extremely difficult to put together touchdown drives.
The New England Patriots crashed out of the AFC playoff race on Sunday following their humbling defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, who seemingly did everything in their power to not put a stranglehold on the game.
While the run defense was nothing to write home about, the unit did well not to give up more points than it did for having to spend 37 minutes (!) on the field. The sheer ineptitude of the offense — which was limited to just four field goals — is largely to thank for that, and if their latest performance didn’t prove that major changes need to be made this offseason, then nothing does.
It was the same old story: move the ball pretty efficiently down the field before being rendered useless in the red zone. In fact, this marked the second straight game (and 21 straight possessions in total) that the offense was unable to score a touchdown, according to Tony Massarotti.
We’ve gone to great lengths to defend Cam Newton given the lack of talent he’s working with and how he had a short period of time to get acclimated with the Patriots’ playbook. However, an offense led by a quarterback of his caliber should simply be able to find the end zone multiple times over an eight-quarter span.
Think about how impossible the aforementioned stat sounds in today’s NFL, when nine teams are averaging over 28 points and half the league is averaging at least 25 points per game. It’s duly noted that Newton isn’t surrounded by superstars, but we’re talking about a former MVP who used to tally 30 touchdowns per season in his sleep.
“It’s frustrating but I don’t want to dwell on what’s the obvious. This whole season has kind of been the tale of just coming up a tad bit short.” — Cam Newton pic.twitter.com/DHjxLbkMs9
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 20, 2020
It would be wrong to put all of the blame for the offense’s struggles on Newton’s shoulders, but you can’t sit there and tell us that the Patriots are keen to re-sign a quarterback who’s proven time and time again that he can’t deliver when it matters most.
Regardless of how dominant your defense is, scoring nothing but field goals isn’t a recipe for winning football. Unfortunately for the Patriots, that’s all their offense has been able to muster of late with Newton under center.
