It was obvious on Sunday that New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton wasn't his usual self on the field, which could be attributed to him being sidelined for an extended period of time after testing positive for COVID-19.
After suffering a loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 6, Newton responded to what many spectators had already confirmed (via Zack Cox of NESN):
“Oh, without a doubt,” Cam Newton said about his apparent rusty performance for the Patriots. “But we're still professionals, and we're supposed to do our job at a high level. We didn't do that today.”
Due to multiple positive COVID-19 test from the New England franchise, the Broncos-Patriots game had been postponed a bit, forcing Bill Belichick's squad to naturally accumulate rust. With Newton seeing limited practice leading up to Sunday, it resulted in his average outing. He ended the matchup completing 17-of-25 passes for 157 yards along with two interceptions. He was able to rush for one touchdown, however.
Newton will have to perform at an elite level again next week against the San Francisco 49ers, especially with the Patriots looking to get themselves out of the hole they've made early in the season. Despite having a subpar performance, Newton's season averages have really been solid, completing 68.1 percent of his passes for 714 yards.
Cam hasn't been able to generate much scoring for New England through the passing game, however, throwing only two touchdowns throughout the season.
Though personal gain compares little to a loss, Newton did join elite company once more against the Broncos. He has now rushed for over 5,000 yards throughout his career, joining only retired legend Michael Vick as the other quarterback able to conquer the feat.
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