Cam Newton’s nemesis got the better of him once again, as the Carolina Panthers quarterback was overwhelmed by a suffocating Seattle Seahawks defense that brought his team’s season to a disappointing end on Saturday.
The fourth-year quarterback, who dropped to 0-4 in his career against the Seahawks, threw two touchdowns, but was undone by three turnovers, including two that helped lift Seattle to a 31-17 playoff win.
“The difference was just missed opportunities,” Newton, who completed 23 of 36 passes for 246 yards and two interceptions, told reporters.
Photo: AFP
“When you are playing a great defense, you just got to take what they give you and a lot of times, I was kind of overlooking the play that needed to be made and instead tried to make the bigger play.”
Newton, 25, displayed solid pocket presence for most of the game, but will likely regret a handful of decisions that swung the game in the home team’s favor.
His first turnover came in the opening quarter, when a 44-yard pass attempt was picked off by Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman at the Seattle 38-yard line.
However, it was Newton’s next turnover, a fumble at the Carolina 28-yard line after a moment of indecision, that proved costly, as Seattle opened the scoring with a touchdown four plays later.
His final turnover came on the last play of what was shaping up to be an impressive 67-yard drive that had Carolina deep in Seattle territory and trailing by 14 points with about six minutes to play.
As Newton stepped up for a pass attempt from Seattle’s 13-yard line, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor anticipated the throw and jumped in front of the intended receiver before intercepting the ball and running 90 yards for a touchdown that put the game out of reach.
“One thing that we have to learn from this is that great teams build from these types of opportunities,” former NFL rookie of the year Newton said.
“Through what we’ve been through this year, it doesn’t stop. We had a great run, but yet we just got to come back and mature and grow as a team and know that when we are in this type of situation again we will prosper.”
Meanwhile, in Foxborough, Massachusetts, a milestone performance from quarterback Tom Brady lifted the New England Patriots to a 35-31 come-from-behind victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Brady threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns, the last a go-ahead 23-yard strike to Brandon LaFell with five minutes remaining, sealing the victory in the American Football Conference second-round game.
The throw gave the Patriots their first lead of the game, and with it Brady passed Joe Montana for the most post-season touchdown passes. It was his 46th.
“It’s pretty special,” said Brady, who was a fan of Montana and the San Francisco 49ers growing up.
Brady had tied Montana’s mark with a five-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski in the third quarter.
Brady’s yardage total and 33 completions in 50 passing attempts both broke his own club records for a playoff game. The three-time Super Bowl winner also ran for a touchdown, a four-yard dash in the opening quarter.
The top-seeded Patriots advanced to their fourth straight AFC Championship game, where they’ll face the winner of yesterday’s Indianapolis-Denver clash for a berth in the Super Bowl.
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