Remember when Cam Newton said he didn't feel safe on the field anymore? Yeah, he still has a point.
In the second quarter of Monday night's game between the Panthers and Redskins, Newton scrambled out of the pocket near the sideline. After crossing the line of scrimmage, he began sliding.
That's when he took a shot to the head from Trent Murphy.
Cam Newton penalized for taunting... pic.twitter.com/XS6VcUKcUY
— Steve Noah (@Steve_OS) December 20, 2016
Yet Newton is the one who got flagged on the play ... for lightly tossing the ball in Murphy's direction immediately after the play ended, which ended up knocking the Panthers out of field-goal range. They were forced to punt because of the 15-yard penalty, so it cost them three points.
Clearly, it should've been a flag.
"That was a sliding QB and you have helmet to helmet contact. You should have had a call there." - Gerry Austin pic.twitter.com/44x2iaIYof
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) December 20, 2016
Here's the rule:
Here's the rule that covers that no-call hit on Cam (Rule 7, section 2, article 1d): pic.twitter.com/NL2CMcLsss
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) December 20, 2016
And everyone watching knew that.
NFL so aggressively pursued an overbearing notion of sportsmanship they've egregiously empowered officials to ignore real on-field issues.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 20, 2016
I just can't with that call. Officials are more worried about flagging taunting than actually officiating the game. Absolutely absurd.
— Aaron Nagler (@AaronNagler) December 20, 2016
The rest of the world expects the refs to start overcorrecting on hits to Cam's dome. Refs like: nah.
— Kevin Patra (@kpatra) December 20, 2016
Cam Newton should have been mad. That was an illegal hit
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) December 20, 2016
Cam gets hit in head. No penalty. Cam tosses football at dude. Penalty. Can't make this stuff up. Think no flag on hit like that on Brady?
— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) December 20, 2016
Cam is the only QB in the league that doesn't get that call and he's one of the best. It makes no sense
— Nick Kostos (@TheKostos) December 20, 2016
Tom Brady gets that call. Eli Manning gets that call. Philip Rivers gets that call. Drew Brees gets that call. I'm just sayin'
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 20, 2016
Throw a football in someone's direction: flag, 15 yards.
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 20, 2016
Throw your head at someone's head: no flag.
Can we skip to Cam Newton's postgame press conference now?
— Aaron Schoonmaker (@AaronSchoony) December 20, 2016
That is the kind of season it's been for Newton. He got absolutely destroyed in the season opener against the Broncos and the punishment hasn't stopped.
Monday night was just another example.
