Sports Illustrated, others mock Cam’s hat. Other writers on Panthers vs. 49ers

A sampling of reporting and commentary from around the country after the Panthers’ 46-27 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

Kenny Ducey, Sports Illustrated

Cam Newton is very good at playing football, but very bad at picking hats. The reigning MVP has made nearly as many headlines for his postgame fashion choices as he has for his superb play. On Sunday, it happened again. The Panthers rolled over the 49ers, 46–27, for their first win of the season, behind Newton’s 353 yards and four touchdowns through the air. All anyone wanted to discuss afterward, though, was his terrible throwback hat, a boater.

Des Bieler, Washington Post

On the field, opponents are rarely able to put a lid on quarterback Cam Newton’s performances. Off the field, it is his own lids that often make a splash, and the one he wore Sunday after helping the Carolina Panthers beat the San Francisco 49ers was no different.

In fact, the straw hat Newton wore pretty much stole the news conference show. It certainly made a huge impression on Internet jokesters, who mined the old-fashioned look for all the yuks they could.

Steve Reed, Associated Press

Maybe all the Carolina Panthers needed was to play someone other than the Denver Broncos.

The league’s top-scoring offense from a year ago returned to form Sunday. Cam Newton threw for 353 yards and four touchdowns, and the Panthers overcame four turnovers to beat the San Francisco 49ers 46-27 in their home opener. The Panthers racked up 529 yards on offense. Newton threw two TD passes to Kelvin Benjamin and one each to Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess to pass Jake Delhomme for most TD passes in franchise history with 122. Newton showed no ill effects from the four helmet-to-helmet hits he took in Carolina’s season-opening loss to Denver. He took one shot to the head from linebacker Eli Harold late in the game after a pitchout on an option play, but quickly got to his feet.

Eric Branch, San Franciso Chronicle

The Panthers did their best to give away a game Sunday, but the 49ers haven’t reached the level where they can fully take advantage of such charity. At least, that is, against a quality team. And the defending NFC champion Panthers are among the league’s best, although they didn’t quite resemble that as they had four turnovers in a 46-27 win over the 49ers at Bank of America Stadium. Carolina had three turnovers inside its 23-yard line, but the Panthers still covered the huge spread (13 1/2 points) because, well, they remain far superior to the 49ers.

Cam Inman, San Jose Mercury News

The Panthers (1-1) racked up 529 yards of offense, converted 7 of 15 third-down plays, had backup Fozzy Whitaker rush for 100 yards, and did all that despite four turnovers, including an Antoine Bethea interception of Newton’s first pass.

As the Panthers went on a 27-point scoring spree in the second and third quarters, the 49ers offense went dormant.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 8:21 AM with the headline "Sports Illustrated, others mock Cam’s hat. Other writers on Panthers vs. 49ers."