Cam Newton is returning to the field Sunday morning for his team’s showdown against the Denver Broncos.
The former league MVP has been out with COVID-19 over the past couple of weeks, but he appears ready to go for this crucial Week 5 battle.
One of the most intriguing things about Newton has always been his style choices in the lead-up to outings. They often provide a very interesting perspective into how he’s feeling and what his mindset is.
His pregame outfit for the Broncos game did just that.
It’s Sunday. So here’s Cam Newton’s fit pic.twitter.com/d5sE53kUSP
— Tyler R. Tynes (@TylerRickyTynes) October 18, 2020
Newton is all business heading into this one – and it’s easy to see why. Besides just wanting to help his 2-2 New England Patriots get back on track, the 31-year-old has also consistently struggled against Denver. He is 0-3 versus the organization – with his most notable defeat coming in Super Bowl 50.
A bit of an odd situation. https://t.co/cSGzy8wrAw
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 17, 2020
As recently as this past Monday, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick refused to commit to his No. 1 quarterback coming back to play this week.
“Look, this whole area is really a medical discussion. It is not a football discussion,” he said.
“Frankly, it’s not something that I’m qualified to talk about. It’s really more of a situation that we rely on our medical staff, our doctors, our trainers and consultation with the league medical team and that’s really what all this is about.
“You can’t expect a football coach to manage a hospital or make medical decisions on something like this. There’s no team in the league that’s doing it that way. This is at a different level here.”
That being said, as soon as the team activated Newton off the COVID-19 list, it became clear that he would be available for this outing.
A victory against Denver would put New England over .500 and bring their record to 3-2. A defeat would take them to 2-3, and bring their winning percentage to below .500. That is notable because the team has played a league record 225 consecutive outings in the month of October or later without having a losing winning percentage.
Yikes Aaron Gordon. https://t.co/fmz8bvfSkC
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 16, 2020
Interestingly enough, when that last happened, back in 2002, New England fell to Denver in Week 8 and dropped to 3-4. That year, the team finished 9-7 and did not make the postseason.
Classic Adam Gase. https://t.co/2ZIGtcVjXm
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 16, 2020
Fortunately for the Patriots, most odds makers have them as heavy favorites heading into his particular game. As things currently stand, New England has been installed as 7.5-point favorite in most sports books.
The only thing that could really mess up what feels like an inevitable Patriots victory is a big day from Broncos quarterback Drew Lock, who has been out of action since Week 2 with a shoulder ailment. If he randomly explodes in this one, all bets are off.
Week 5’s battle between the Patriots and Broncos kicks off at 10:00 am PT and will air on CBS.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
