Newton is boasting the best passer rating of his career (103.7), and is on track for a career-high 69.6 completion percentage and passing yards (3,925.8).
“Honestly, I feel like I’m playing the best football of my career,” he said on Wednesday, via the Charlotte Observer. “Straight-up. I just feel in control. There’s no question marks. My assuredness of every single play, I know exactly what I’m supposed to do … It’s just, I don’t want to sound like that, but I know my worth. I know who I am … That’s all personal. And that comes with preparation.
“I feel like, when somebody is at their best and facing me, and I’m at my best, we win. You know what I’m saying?”
Newton, who was named MVP in 2015 and took Carolina to the Super Bowl that season, has a helpful cast of players in Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel that help the eighth-year play-caller get the ball out efficiently and effectively. But, one problem remains: the explosive plays from Newton and company have not translated into wins.
The Panthers’ losing streak has included a whopping 52-21 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 8, a narrow one-point loss to the Detroit Lions the next week and Carolina most recently fell to Seattle 30-27 at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday.
“[In the past when I was playing my best], I was rewarded with victories,” Newton said. “Now, it’s tougher that we’re not winning … The selfish me would have been like, ‘Oh, I’m good. We ain’t losing because of me.’ But that’s not where I am right now in my career.”
The Panthers are projected as eighth in the NFC playoff picture, according to NFL.com, and will need wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons – not to mention the formidable New Orleans Saints, who they will face twice in the next five weeks.
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