Cam Newton has some nerve. For some reason, he’s intent on not being impressed by anything Russell Wilson does. Maybe it’s a deep-down jealousy Cam harbors because Russ went to two Super Bowl games, won one and has over 10,000 more career passing yards and over 100 more TDs. Cam got to a Super Bowl, but it wasn’t much of a game.
Back in October, Cam suggested Pittsburgh trade Russ.
Cam Newton Comes For Russell Wilson Again
Cam’s impact on the culture when he was the star quarterback of the Carolina Panthers can’t be denied, but he’s the past and Wilson is still a leading man for another Super Bowl contender in Pittsburgh.
That deserves respect. Plenty of guys had disparaging things to say about Wilson, but there’s a reason why Mike Tomlin has lasted 17 non-losing seasons in Pittsburgh and made the switch even with starter Justin Fields showing some promise.
Now, as one of the co-hosts on “First Take” and a celebrity podcaster, Cam is using his platform to demean the veteran, who since taking over as starting quarterback has elevated a Steelers air attack that was stagnant under Fields.
Despite a tough snow game loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night, Pittsburgh is 8-3 and leading the AFC North division. Thanks to the Steelers’ 18-16 win over the Ravens in Week 11, Pittsburgh holds the first tiebreaker and will maintain the first spot even if the team’s record drops to 8-4.
Cam Newton Says Steelers Have Carried QB Russell Wilson
Cam, who is known to be very critical when grading the current generation of quarterback, made it clear that Wilson’s 4-1 record this season doesn’t move him, and according to the former MVP, praise for Wilson has been overblown because the way Cam sees it, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers’ formidable defense has “carried him.”
During his “4th and 1” podcast, Cam said: “Russell Wilson is being carried by the Pittsburgh Steelers. … Russ is cooking, he’s making some big time throws yes, but I’m looking at his situation and I’m saying he’s not doing anything different, bruh,” than Justin Fields, who was 4-2 in his stint as starter.
Cam Newton Shades Pittsburgh Steelers Opponents
Cam also tried to throw shade on the quality of teams the Steelers have faced, saying “What alarms me was this statistic that is like ‘Wilson is undefeated, the Steelers are 4-0.’ Who have they played? They played the Jets, the Giants, a still-on-the-bubble Washington Commanders team, and they played the Ravens. By the way, Chris Boswell kicked all their points [vs Baltimore]. He had an egregious interception.”
Cam is reaching, because the Steelers have the eighth-toughest strength of schedule this season as of Nov. 27, so they haven’t been playing a bunch of cream puffs. Their opponents have a combined winning percentage of .567. In comparison, a four-loss Ravens team has the 12th-toughest strength of schedule (.518 opponent winning percentage).
“He’s not losing the game, more so than he’s winning the game,” Cam concluded.
Since assuming the starting spot, Wilson has thrown seven touchdowns and just two picks, while sporting a highly respectable 98.6 quarterback rating, which ranks him 10th in the NFL above Super Bowl champions like Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford. In the loss to Cleveland, Wilsons still managed to post the eighth-highest QBR in the league.
Critics Still Trying To Get Fields Back Into Starting Role
For some reason, blowhards are content on ignoring the great story that Wilson and Tomlin are writing in Pittsburgh and looking forward to the future, past Wilson’s current impact on the season. Wilson is one-year deal and who knows what the future holds?
Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has made comments hinting they view Fields as the main man in the future, saying: “I still view Justin, and he is, I think, [a] premium starter in this league, so it’s a fine line. You don’t want to be a gadget guy, but he can help the team.”
Praise and criticism is week to week in the NFL. Media has been complaining about Mahomes all season and he’s still got a 10-1 record. They want Lamar Jackson to win another MVP, but he can’t win a playoff game. So all Wilson has to do is keep winning and being the calming veteran presence and deep-ball master that he’s been.
Cam Is Not Alone In Criticism of Wilson
Those same haters that were against him taking over for Fields are surfacing again with reasons why Tomlin should bench Wilson and go back to Fields.
During Tuesday’s edition of the “Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports suggested Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin could go back to Fields if Wilson’s red-zone struggles persist.
“I think it’s totally within the realm of possibility that Justin Fields goes back to being the Steelers starter,” Kinkhabwala explained, as Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot shared. “This Steelers offense has a lot of warts that have been kind of covered up the last few weeks because of Chris Boswell, their kicker, who is as money as they come, and because of this defense. But they have been absolutely horrific in the red zone. Russell Wilson once again is taking terrible, terrible, terrible sacks.”
Fields might be used in certain red zone situations, and it’s a luxury for Tomlin to have that option, but he’s not taking over the QB1 spot this season unless Russ gets hurt again.
Newton, a guy whose passing ability was questionable at best, has some nerve trying to diminish what the 35-year-old is accomplishing with the Steelers. Nobody picked them to win the Super Bowl this season, but they also didn’t expect them to be 8-3. Cam might end up eating those words.
