Cam Newton knew he nearly lost Sunday's game for the New England Patriots. He told Josh McDaniels as much moments after Nick Folk's game-winning 50-yard field goal split the uprights.
As the Patriots celebrated their 20-17 victory on the field at Gillette Stadium, FOX cameras showed Newton appearing to say, "I'm sorry, man" to McDaniels, New England's offensive coordinator.
Newton threw an interception with less than five minutes remaining, but Arizona missed a potential go-ahead field goal on the ensuing drive.
New England regained possession and drove into field-goal range, helped along by a 14-yard Newton carry on third-and-13 and a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Cardinals linebacker Isaiah Simmons.
Newton was asked about his postgame exchange with McDaniels during a Monday morning appearance on WEEI's "Greg Hill Show."
“It was just a culmination of everything," the quarterback said. "And you don’t know when the camera’s on you. You don’t know when somebody’s shining a light. When you play in the National Football League, you play a professional sport where the camera is always on you. It was just a dialogue between me and Josh, man. Everybody was happy, as was I, and I just knew I jeopardized the team in a way. And nobody -- especially not one of the leaders on the team -- wants to have that happen.
"And I knew. You’re talking to a person who’s not oblivious to the way that I played (Sunday). It’s unacceptable. But at the same time, I’m not about to sit up here and be sorry, sorry, sorry; apologize, apologize, apologize. I said what I had to say, and it’s time to move forward."
After four consecutive weeks of continued offensive improvement, Newton endured one of his worst statistical games as a pro Sunday, posting career lows in passing yards (84) and passer rating (23.6). He completed just 9 of 18 passes, threw two interceptions and was sacked three times, though he did finish with 46 rushing yards on nine carries.
With the Patriots' offense managing just 179 total yards -- tied for their fewest in any Belichick-era victory -- they leaned on contributions from their defense and special teams.
New England's D staged a pivotal goal-line stand in the final seconds of the first half and consistently harassed Cardinals QB Kyler Murray, and Donte Moncrief and Gunner Olszewski had 50-plus-yard kick and punt returns, respectively.
Folk converted both of his field-goal tries. He's 19-for-21 on the season, with his most recent miss coming way back in Week 2.
"I’m not about to apologize for a great team win, and I think that’s what’s most important," Newton said on WEEI. "At the end of the game, was I in my feelings? Absolutely. Just like any other competitor would be knowing what was done and how it was done. But yet, we won, and that makes everything OK."
