If the opening minutes of Thursday night’s Patriots second preseason game in Philadelphia are any indication, Cam Newton isn’t giving up his starting job just yet. And not without a fight.
After a lackluster August opener against Washington’s defense a week earlier, Newton took to Lincoln Financial Field in the starting role and led the New England offense in impressive fashion.
Sure it was against mostly Eagles backups, but it was arguably as good a stretch of play from Newton as at any point this summer and maybe comparable to any small sample of success from his first regular season in Foxborough a year ago.
Newton completed eight of his nine passes (89 percent) for 103 yards for a 151.4 rating, including a nice catch-and-run 28-yard score to Jakobi Meyers. His three possessions leading the offense resulted in a pair of touchdowns and a short field goal attempt on the way to the Patriots 35-0 blowout victory.
“Cam had a good week,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said afterwards of his veteran quarterback’s work in joint practice and then preseason game action against the Eagles.
Newton moved well inside the pocket, sliding and stepping up on a number of throws to deliver accurate, timely, decisive, effective passes to his teammates. Newton took care of the football, right up until he handed out a couple to Patriots fans in the stands in Philly.
“It’s my thing,” Newton said of the gesture, sounding very much like a man preparing to lead the New England offense during the regular season. “That’s my way of appreciation to the fans. Hopefully there will be a lot of Sunday giveaways to look forward to in the upcoming season.”
There was no holding onto the ball. There weren’t any ugly, erratic throws. There were no signs of the issues that led to Newton’s struggles a year ago or even some of the practice field problems that have opened the door for upstart first-round rookie Mac Jones to compete for the starting job this spring and summer.
Nope, Newton looked comfortable and in control of Josh McDaniels’ offense. He looked like a guy capable of starting. He, as was the case with Jones the No. 15 overall pick’s preseason debut against The Football Team, looked the part.
Good news for the Patriots, though, was that Jones was almost equally as impressive and effective. The rookie led New England’s offense to a trio of touchdown drives between the second and third quarter.
Jones completed 13 of 19 passes (68.4 percent) for the second straight week for 146 yards and a 91.1 rating. He was again victimized by a couple drops, most notably a would-be big play to N’Keal Harry.
“I think the whole offense did a pretty good job today,” Newton said when asked about his young competitor’s performance. “From the first, second, third group, and I think we did play great complementary football as a team. From the first drive, having a short field, being backed up. Our first job as an offense is to get a first down. Once we got that first down that’s when everything also got rockin’ and rollin’. And really starting the second half with some points too. So all those keys to victory, we go over and it’s just great to see it coming to fruition tonight and just to see it close out. Outside of the [late Rhamondre Stevenson] fumble, it was pretty much a flawless night for us offensively.”
Yes, it was. And it all started with Newton.
If the Newton really is the Patriots starting quarterback as Belichick asserted and reasserted this offseason, he obviously did nothing to lose the job in Philly. Quite the contrary, he actually filled the role as well as maybe he ever has.
If there is indeed a “healthy competition” at quarterback that could lead to a “hard decision,” as Belichick has also proclaimed, both quarterbacks played to that narrative against mostly Eagles backups.
It was a good night for Newton. It was a good night for Jones. It was a good night for the Patriots offense that churned out 486 yards.
It was a feel-good game for the guy who always seems to feel good, Newton. A week after his Instagram post about “loyalty” was overanalyzed throughout Patriot Nation, Newton has to feel better about his hold on the QB job, his job.
And Patriots fans have to feel at least a little bit better about the quarterback competition, the quarterback spot, for both the present and the future.