Aiight, y’all. Shall we get into it?
“I’m Back!”
The only thing better than savory grits (because only Trumpers put sugar on grits) is a good comeback story. After getting unceremoniously dismissed by the New England Patriots during training camp, Cam Newton kissed and made up with the love of his life, the Carolina Panthers, last week in hopes that they can rekindle their flame and get that old thing back. And if Sunday is a sign of things to come, the NFC South just became a little more interesting.
No, he didn’t reclaim his throne as the starting quarterback (yet), but he commanded the huddle on the sidelines:
And when he stepped in for P.J. Walker, he scored two touchdowns on his first two snaps, with one in the air and another on the ground:
And after propelling the Panthers (5-5) past the Cardinals (8-2), who entered the game with the best record in the NFL, he put Carolina’s cheerleaders on notice that they were at risk of losing their jobs, too:
Simply put, Cam’s tenacity was exactly what the Panthers needed after losing five of their past six games prior to his arrival.
“No disrespect to them,’’ Newton said of the Cardinals. “But I’m just floating at an all-time high frequency. It’s almost scary.’’
The 2015 NFL MVP also touched on how humbling it’s been to watch most of this season from his couch.
“I’ll put it like this: This time last week I was [at home] eating a bowl of cereal,” he said. “That puts things in perspective.’’
Welcome back, Cam.
Don’t Call It a Comeback, They’ve Been Here for Years
On the same day my Denver Broncos had me throwing chairs and screaming into the abyss after losing to the lowly Philadelphia Eagles, the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) might’ve finally turned the corner and put the entire league on notice.
For the first nine weeks of the season, the Chiefs looked like a shell of a shell of themselves, coughing up costly turnovers and giving up almost as many points as they put on the scoreboard. But on Sunday night, something magical happened—and his name is Patrick Mahomes.
With his 406 passing yards and five passing touchdowns, he delivered the big plays that the Chiefs’ offense has been missing all season—and was even kind enough to make some of them left-handed.
More importantly, the Chiefs’ defense made critical plays (shoutout to Rashad Fenton for doing the Lord’s work) and held the Las Vegas Raiders (5-4) to 14 points.
“We’ve done it before,” Mahomes said after the game. “We’ve done it these last few seasons we were doing at the beginning of this season. We were moving the ball and making a lot of stuff happen. We were just turning the ball over. Then we kind of went through a little spell where we weren’t making these drives and we were still finding ways to win. I knew that we’re going to click back into it.”
If the Chiefs are truly, finally back, the rest of the league is in serious trouble.
Who Balled Out This Week
- The Washington Football Team (3-6) spent their Sunday slapping around Tom Brady and somehow finished the job without Chase Young, who might be done for the season with an ACL tear:
- Jamal Adams tried his damndest to preserve the Seattle Seahawks’ dignity during a brutal 17-0 curb-stomping, courtesy of the Green Bay Unvaccinated Liars:
- Alabama quarterbacks Mac Jones (New England Patriots), Jalen Hurts (Philadelphia Eagles), and Tua Tagovailoa (Miami Dolphins), who all won in the same week for the first time since they all became pros.
See y’all next week.