Cam Newton Leads Panthers To Two Touchdowns On His First Two Snaps Back With Team

BOSTON (CBS) -- It did not take Cam Newton very long to reacquaint himself to the Carolina Panthers. The quarterback led the Panthers on a pair of scoring strikes against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in his return to Carolina.

Those scoring strikes came on back-to-back snaps for Newton. Not too shabby for the quarterback.

Newton did not start Sunday's game after signing with the Panthers earlier this week. But the 32-year-old replaced PJ Walker on a second-and-goal on Carolina's first possession, and brought back memories of his first nine NFL seasons with the Panthers. Newton took a shotgun snap and quickly bounced outside, beating the Arizona defense as he leaped for the goal line.

It was vintage Newton at work, and it put Carolina up 7-0.

Newton celebrated by taking off his helmet and shouting "I'm baaaaacccckkkkkk!!!!!!" to the crowd. It drew a 15-yard penalty, but it didn't seem to rattle Newton or the Panthers.

He came on in relief again on Carolina's next possession, with the Panthers facing a first-and-goal from the two-yard line. Newton took the snap and made it look like he'd try to run it in again, but then pulled back and tossed a touchdown strike to Robby Anderson.

Carolina won 34-10 to get back to .500 on the season. Newton only played a limited number of snaps, but finished with 14 rush yards on three carries and completed three of his four passes for eight yards. He will likely get the start next weekend when Carolina hosts the Washington Football Team.

The Panthers drafted Newton first overall in 2011, but parted ways with him after an injury-plagued 2019 season. That led to one frustrating season for Newton in New England in 2020, and he was cut by the Patriots ahead of the 2021 season.

Newton remained a free agent until last week, when he signed a one-year deal to return to the Panthers.

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