New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was adamant after last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers that Cam Newton was still going to be the team's starting quarterback, but how long will the team stick with the former NFL MVP if he keeps making mistakes?
How short is Newton's leash on the starting QB job?
"It's not so short where if he makes one mistake, they’re going to pull him, but it’s also not so long (that) if he continues to make those mistakes, they’re just going to let him go," Jay Glazer reported on FOX's NFL pregame show Sunday afternoon.
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"They are concerned about the number of errors he's had the last two weeks. They understand -- because of COVID and he's been out -- they understand and they get it, but he needs to pull it together much faster if he wants to stay in there."
Belichick benched Newton in the fourth quarter of his team's loss to the 49ers.
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New England Patriots
Newton had completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 98 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. The veteran quarterback was throwing balls into the ground, overthrowing receivers and not making a huge impact on the ground.
Over the last two games, Newton has thrown zero touchdowns with five interceptions. Sure, the Patriots haven't surrounded Newton with enough talent at wide receiver and tight end, but he must play a lot better if New England is going to end its three-game losing streak soon.
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If Newton continues to play at a subpar level, the next man up likely would be Jarrett Stidham. The second-year quarterback has appeared in two games and completed 11 of 23 pass attempts for 124 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
Newton and the Patriots are back in action Sunday for an important Week 8 matchup on the road against the Buffalo Bills.