With 34 seconds left in the first half on Monday night, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton ran up the middle for a first down. The clock was running, and he should have either called timeout immediately or hurried the offense back to the line. That’s not what he did.
Instead, Newton got up, walked toward the end zone, made a first down signal, and then slowly walked back toward the line of scrimmage, stopping to exchange words with Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone. The Panthers finally called timeout with 23 seconds remaining before halftime.
Newton had wasted 11 seconds, and two plays later he threw an interception in the end zone. It’s impossible to say what would have happened if Newton had managed the clock better, but it seems likely that the Panthers wouldn’t have called a pass into the end zone if they had had more time at that point.
So while the biggest question surrounding Newton pertains to the health of his shoulder, it’s also fair to question his decision-making. A quarterback in his eighth NFL season should be better at managing the clock than Newton was late in the first half on Monday night.
