Cam Newton passes Aaron Rodgers, sets comeback record

Cam Newton sets another record, receives little credit.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has been setting records since his rookie season and this past Sunday he claimed another. Trailing by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, Newton led Carolina to a 21-17 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions on three consecutive possessions.

Not only did it tie the biggest deficit for a win in franchise history, but it was the largest ever fourth-quarter comeback for Carolina. The victory also gave Newton 15 such wins during his career which ties Hall of Fame quarterbacks Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Len Dawson, Bob Griese and surpasses current Green Bay Packers signal caller Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers has long been considered the “Comeback King” when it comes to managing a fourth quarter win from behind but a closer examination reveals he is far from the throne. Rodgers actually only has a 29-percent success rate in such games compared to 38-percent for Newton. Tom Brady‘s (New England Patriots) 52-percent with 35 successful attempts is staggering but both would have received twice (if not more) fanfare and coverage than Newton has received.

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Former NFL wide receiver Chris Carter has taken notice and during First Things First on FS1, the Fox Sports host unleashed his feelings about the fact that Newton isn’t receiving the same acclaim.

"“If this was Tom Brady, and Tom Brady had done that, if he had a 133 passer rating in the fourth quarter at Philadelphia, we’d be talking about it before then. If it was Aaron Rodgers, we would have talked about it. … If Cam Newton was up 17 points and Carson Wentz had come back, we would have talked about it before … I thought we should be talking about it more. It was a tremendous game by one of our best quarterbacks that we have, on the road, against the world champs.”"

Newton passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter with only six incomplete passes – five on the final drive – and three straight before a 4-and-10 turned into a 35-yard catch and run for veteran receiver Torrey Smith. A game saving play, Newton was under duress, left the ground and completed the pass when his team needed him the most.

The Panthers quarterback is a former league MVP and was Rookie of the Year in 2011. He’s won conference and national titles at all levels of football and has redefined the quarterback position in the NFL.

It won’t be the last record Newton breaks but let’s hope he receives due credit when the next one falls.