Cam Newton Benched As Patriots Get Dominated By The 49ers

A good adjective to describe the Patriots’ offense over the past few weeks is putrid. After failing to consistently drive the ball down the field against the Denver Broncos last week, it was much of the same in their week seven loss to the San Francisco 49ers in a fiasco where the Patriots lost 33-6 with quarterback Cam Newton being benched in the second half after throwing three interceptions. “The first thing I said to myself coming home was, ‘You keep playing games like that, bro, and it’s going to be a permanent change,'” Newton said Monday morning on Boston sports radio WEEI.

This probably is not a permanent benching of Newton considering the disastrous play from Brian Hoyer and Jarred Stidham during the week that Newton was out after testing positive for COVID-19, but this is definitely concerning to a team that is already struggling so much to move the ball.

This loss moves New England to 2-4 with hopes of an AFC playoff berth slowly slipping away. It is a fair question to ask whether or not it may be time for the Patriots to focus on player development and start eyeing a higher pick in the draft. Something I’d never thought I would say about a Bill Belichick-coached team.