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Newton (abdomen) completed nine of 16 passes for 119 yards with no touchdowns and one interception in the Patriots' 24-3 loss to the Rams on Thursday night. He also rushed seven times for 16 yards and committed a fumble that was recovered by the offense before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham with 10:12 remaining.
Newton's numbers more or less tell the story, with the notable addendum being that his one interception was of the pick-six variety, contributing to the Patriots' game-long malaise. The veteran signal-caller had entered Thursday night's game having thrown for under 100 yards in each of the prior two games, with New England somehow emerging victorious in both contests. However, Newton didn't consistently get handed short fields or see his defense and special teams put up some complementary scores as had been the case in those wins, and he wasn't up to the task of matching the Rams offense on the scoreboard. The fallout from Newton's late-game benching is naturally something to monitor as well as the fantasy postseason begins, and given coach Bill Belichick's typically secretive nature about personnel decisions and the extended time between Thursday and a Week 15 road matchup against the Dolphins on Dec. 20, it could be some time before fantasy managers get a handle on whether it will be Newton or Stidham under center for that divisional clash.
