It is a play that now lives in infamy.
But for the first time, former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton discussed the fumble he failed to jump on in Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos.
At the time the Panthers were trailing by six, needing a touchdown to stay alive. Newton was stripped-sacked, and it became the play that started the beginning of the end for the generation-defining quarterback in Charlotte. Looking back on it now, however, he admits he should have dove on the ball.
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“It ain’t no excuse for me not jumping on the fumble,” Newton said on his 4th and One podcast. “I should’ve jumped on the fumble. Straight up. The competitor in me, if that happens again, duh. This is the Super Bowl. All effort goes to, like, Super Bowl energy. That wasn’t Super Bowl energy.”
After Newton lost the Super Bowl, the media eviscerated him. His will to win was questioned. And his moment as an elite NFL quarterback was over. No one knew it at the time.