Bill Belichick is sticking with Cam Newton as the Patriots' starting quarterback after New England's 33-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday's Week 7 game at Gillette Stadium.
The Patriots head coach was asked in his postgame press conference if Newton would be the team's quarterback going forward, and he responded, "Yeah, absolutely. I just wanted to give (Jarrett Stidham) a little experience there."
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Newton struggled mightily against the 49ers defense Sunday. He completed nine of 15 pass attempts for 98 yards with zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Newton also ran for 19 yards on five carries.
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The former league MVP was benched early in the fourth quarter. Stidham played the remainder of the game and completed six of 10 pass attempts for 64 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
The Patriots offense is really struggling. It has scored only one touchdown -- a Newton rushing TD -- in the last two games. Newton has thrown two touchdown passes with seven interceptions in five games as a Patriot. He's eclipsed the 200 passing yards mark in only one of those five matchups.
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Newton, to his credit, has been one of the league's top rushing quarterbacks this season with 225 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. But for the Patriots offense to consistently score points and beat quality opponents, Newton has to be a much better passer than he's shown the last couple games.
The next challenge for Newton and the Patriots comes Sunday in a Week 8 matchup against the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills on the road.