There was nothing surprising about Cam Newton having a hard time as the Carolina Panthers won in their second preseason game, and those problems in the passing game are about to continue.
Newton was picked off once against the Dolphins in a 31-30 win and failed to lead the Panthers to points on his drives. He completed just 4-of-10 passes for 42 yards and the one time he did get something going, the Panthers were stopped right before the end zone, as Newton made a dive for the touchdown and came up short.
And there’s nothing surprising about the passing game struggles considering how poor their receiving corps are. No Kelvin Benjamin for the season means another difficult situation for Newton, who no longer costs like a rookie.
Defensive end Frank Alexander tore his Achilles tendon and is out for the season. Center Ryan Kalil has a banged up knee, but it’s still unclear for how long he’ll be out.
Things did look better for the Panthers when the backups came on. Derek Anderson completed 8-of-16 for 87 yards and helped the Panthers score some field goals, while Joe Webb completed 12-of-17 passes for 131 yards, including a touchdown pass.
Maybe the sole bright spot in this game was how rookie (first round pick) Shaq Thompson performed, breaking up a couple of passes, including one along the sidelines to Jordan Cameron, saving a touchdown.