Three key takeaways from Carolina Panthers loss to Detroit Lions

Cam Newton played his heart out Sunday

This looks like a different Newton then I have seen in years past. Last year, he looked tentative at times throwing the football and did not make clear reads. This year, he looks confident in his throws. He knows where he wants to throw it and he has confidence in his receivers. Of course, it helps that he is surrounded by weapons now. Even still, it is nice to see him take full control of the offense. Sure, there are some instances where that could be very frustrating. We saw that a little bit of that on Sunday. For the most part, he was smart with the football.

With a 114.4 passer rating, Sunday marked the fifth game in a row where he had a passer rating of at least 100. Of course it is all going to come back to the fact that he missed the two-point conversion. Although that was a back breaker, it should not completely define what he did on Sunday. He played well, and the Panthers will need stellar play from him down the road. Particularly with another Saints win, Newton needs to continue to play at this level if the Panthers want to stay in the hunt for the division title.