Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers embarrassed in 45-21 loss to Philadelphia Eagles

The Carolina Panthers coughed up the ball on two of their first three offensive plays Monday night ... and somehow things managed to get worse from there.

The Panthers have fallen and have shown no signs of getting up.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost their starting quarterback and leading tackler last week against Houston, but didn’t miss a beat against the reeling Panthers, who haven’t won a game in over a month.

Quarterback Cam Newton had four of the Panthers’ five turnovers and was outplayed by Eagles backup quarterback Mark Sanchez as Philadelphia rolled to a 45-21 laugher at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Panthers (3-6-1) went 0-4-1 during their five-game stretch against 2013 playoff teams and failed to gain ground on New Orleans (4-5) in the dreadful NFC South. It’s the Panthers’ longest winless streak since they lost five in a row early in the 2012 season.

“At some point you have to start winning games or none of that even matters. Nobody wants help. Nobody wants a handicap or anything given to you. In this league you so often get exactly what you deserve,” Panthers strong safety Roman Harper said. “And when we don’t play well enough to win the games, we’re not going to win it. We don’t deserve the division lead or anything like that.”

Carolina fell to 13-20 in prime-time games, including 0-3 this season following losses to Pittsburgh and New Orleans.

Newton was sacked nine times, the most allowed in a regulation game in team history. The Falcons had nine sacks in 23-20 overtime win against Carolina on Sept. 3, 1995, in the first game in Panthers’ history.

“You start adding it up – nine sacks, five turnovers, punt return (for a touchdown) – you start adding those things up and you don’t even give yourself a chance,” Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said.

Eagles outside linebacker Connor Barwin had 3.5 sacks, which tied for the second-most by an opposing player in Panthers’ history.

“Credit to them. We knew they had some good pass-rushers. We knew that was going to be a challenge,” Olsen added. “But that’s all of us. We need to get open faster. We need to give Cam a place to go with the ball faster. We need to protect better. This is not a one-person (issue). Sacks and turnovers, that’s a reflection of the entire offense, all 11 guys that are out there.”

A game after establishing career lows against New Orleans in completions, completion percentage and passer rating, Newton tossed three interceptions in the first half as the Panthers limped into the locker room down 31-7 at halftime.

The Eagles (7-2) scored touchdowns in all three phases in the first half, getting a 65-yard punt return by former Saint Darren Sproles and a 34-yard interception return by Bradley Fletcher.

The 31 points tied the most allowed by the Panthers in a first half in team history.

The Panthers hadn’t played in 11 days, giving starting offensive linemen Byron Bell and Amini Silatolu a chance to get healthy and return to the lineup. But any thought that a healthy line would equate to a solid line was misguided.

A couple of the sacks were coverage sacks and Newton held on to the ball too long on a couple, but the majority were the line’s fault.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he wasn’t “going to indict” anyone on the sacks until he had a chance to study the video. It won’t be a fun film session.

Sanchez, making his first start since 2012, completed 20 of 37 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns. The former No. 5 overall pick who led the league in turnovers during 2011-12, did not have a giveaway against the Panthers.

Any chance that the Panthers might steal a road win against the NFC East-leading Eagles was all but lost during their first two offensive series.

The Panthers gifted the Eagles a 10-0 lead with two turnovers in Philadelphia territory in their first three offensive plays – a fumble by DeAngelo Williams and a Newton interception. Eagles cornerback Cary Williams picked off Newton after rookie wideout Kelvin Benjamin stopped running on a slant route.

The Panthers held the Eagles to a Cody Parkey field goal after

Williams’ fumble, but Philadelphia cashed in with a touchdown after Newton threw an interception for the sixth consecutive game.

Sproles ran around the left end untouched for an 8-yard score when defensive end Mario Addison was pancaked by wide receiver Riley Cooper.

“What happened? We spotted them 10 points, we ran three plays. That’s a tough way to start the game,” Olsen said. “We have five turnovers and a punt returned for a touchdown. That’s not winning football.”

Rivera said he left Newton in for the entire game because he wanted him to develop a rhythm.

Rivera also said he wasn’t taking a short-term view, but was looking at the bigger picture with the player he and general manager Dave Gettleman have said is their franchise quarterback.

Newton ended up completing 25 of 40 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns to go along with the three picks. But both touchdown passes to Benjamin came in the fourth quarter after the Panthers had fallen behind by 38 points.

Rivera said he had no issue with players’ effort during the blowout, and isn’t concerned about their mindset as the losses continue to pile up.

“I’m not concerned about it. I’m concerned about us playing,” Rivera said. “Psyche’s one thing. But I think they understand, I think they get it.”

Olsen said energy isn’t this team’s problem.

“We need to play better football. I don’t think effort or any of that is our issue,” he said. “I think we’re playing hard. We’re just playing poorly.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2014 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers embarrassed in 45-21 loss to Philadelphia Eagles."