Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has taken a lot of hits this season, and the refs finally called roughing the passer for one of them.
Cam Newton draws his 1st roughing the passer call since 2014
Newton has taken a lot of hits this year, but this was the first time the refs actually called roughing the passer.
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Stacy McGee initiated contact after the ball left Newton’s hand, then he drove the quarterback into the ground. It’s a clear roughing the passer penalty, though Newton usually doesn’t get the benefit of those calls.
This wasn’t just the first time officials have called roughing the passer in Newton’s favor this season.
Officials did call roughing the passer against the Broncos in Week 1 for a hit on Newton, but it was not enforced because of an offsetting penalty called on the Panthers.
After Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman Calais Campbell wasn’t flagged for a low hit on Newton in Week 8, Newton said it was “taking the fun out of the game” for him. League sources said that the hit should have been penalized, and Newton spoke to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the hits he was taking and the lack of flags.
The NFL acknowledged that Campbell should have been penalized for roughing the passer, and Campbell was fined roughly $18,000 for the hit.
After the Raiders were penalized for roughing the passer on Sunday, Newton capped off the drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to tie things up, 7-7, in Oakland.
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