Pat Patriot
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Patriots quarterback Cam Newton wasn’t stopped short of the end zone on the final play of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, but he said it was a “kind of frustrating” afternoon.
The Patriots beat the Raiders 36-20 to move to 2-1 on the season, but Newton was 17-of-28 for 162 yards through the air while picking up 27 yards on nine rushing attempts. The offense still rolled up 406 yards thanks to the work of running backs Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel and J.J. Taylor, so it worked as a reminder that there are many ways to move the ball even if Newton’s grade for himself was not a good one.
“I do understand, playing in this league long enough, that there will be games like that,” Newton said on WEEI, via NESN.com. “And when there are games like that, you’ve just got to find ways to win. So that’s the optimistic answer. Me personally, with lackluster ball security, just the slow start offensively, this is subpar performance. I know I can play better, I know I can be better, and I know I will be better. . . . I’m going, like, midway C — 75. Just subpar.”
If you ignore a kneeldown to end the first half, the Patriots scored on six straight possessions after falling behind 3-0 in first half. That makes it a lot easier to swallow a lackluster outing from Newton in his third start for the team.