Week 11: Panthers 44, Washington 16

The details

When he is at his best – as he has been for almost all of this 10-0 Carolina Panthers’ season – quarterback Cam Newton can beat you in all sorts of ways.

To call him a running quarterback does Newton a disservice, for he can eviscerate teams solely with his arm.

As Carolina whipped Washington 44-16 on a crisp Charlotte afternoon, Newton did just that. He threw a career-high five touchdown passes, hardly ran the ball and led a rout so complete that the Panthers played their backups for most of the fourth quarter.

“If our quarterback throws five touchdowns, we’re going to be in pretty good shape,” said tight end Greg Olsen, who caught one of the five. Scott Fowler

They said it

“I’ve said it since Day One. I’m not really caring about what people think as long as I’ve got the trust in this organization and more importantly guys on the field with me. I’ve always kind of labeled myself as a pocket passer with the ability to run.” – Cam Newton

“He played pretty good today. They are 10-0. I think if you are the starting quarterback on a football team that is 10-0 then you should be getting (MVP) consideration.” – Washington coach Jay Gruden on Newton.

“Our greatest victories aren’t behind us. They are in front of us.” – coach Ron Rivera

The weirdness

Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman was giving up 5 inches and 142 pounds to Trent Williams, but Norman didn’t back down before having to be separated from Washington’s big left tackle in the first half.

“I don’t know who dude is, but he be trippin’,” Norman said. “I just don’t understand, man. Shoot, the score was well out of reach and he was still doing crazy stuff.”

Norman said Williams was involved in a lot of after-the-whistle activity, including shoving guys on the ground and engaging in a lot of trash talk.

After one such play in the first half, Norman (6 feet, 195 pounds) and Williams (6-5, 337) got in each other’s faces and head-butted each other. No flags were thrown, but Norman didn’t forget the exchange.

“He better be glad those refs were out there. I feel like if they wouldn’t (have been there), people would have gone to a dark place, “ Norman said. “It was good that they were out there to get in between that. I don’t care how big he was, I’d take a shot.” Jonathan Jones

Hot takes

Scott Fowler: The Panthers had won 15 of their past 16 games dating back to the 2014 season. So a 28-point victory was taken with a more matter-of-fact attitude than you might expect, as were Newton’s five TD passes. When asked about Newton’s performance, coach Ron Rivera started off with: “I thought he did some nice things.”

Well, yeah. I’d say 44 points worth of offense was pretty nice.

Michael Persinger: The Panthers effectively made Washington’s offense one-dimensional and invited Kirk Cousins to beat them. He wasn’t up to the task.

Carolina allowed 14 rushing yards and nine first downs. Only two big plays – a 56-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson when Colin Jones slipped and a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown – kept the game from being more lopsided.

The Panthers had five sacks, five fumbles forced and five takeaways including Kurt Coleman’s interception.

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This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Week 11: Panthers 44, Washington 16."