As if the 17th game-winning drive of his career, a 21-17 win over the defending Super Bowl champs in their house and being the inspiration for Ron Rivera’s ‘Victory Monday Shirt’ wasn’t enough, Cam Newton has another accolade to call his own as the NFL announced Wednesday that the 29-year old is the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week for Week 7 – and it basically took him one quarter to earn it.

After throwing for only five yards in the first half and only 68 through three quarters, Newton exploded for 201 yards and two scores on 16-of-22 passing in the fourth quarter as he led three scoring drives to help the Panthers come all the way back from a 17-0 deficit. Newton now ranks second in the NFL in fourth quarter passing yards (689) in 2018 and is the only NFL QB to throw for over 200 yards in the fourth quarter on two separate occasions this season – he also is tied for second with six passing touchdowns.

In addition to his passing numbers, Newton – as he almost always does when he secures offensive awards – did work with his legs as well, leading the Panthers with 49 yards on seven carries; during the game, he passed Michael Vick for most rushing first downs by a quarterback in NFL history with 344. Newton needs only 350 more yards to pass Dan Marino for the second-most combined yards (passing + rushing) by a quarterback in the first eight seasons of their career.

“You do expect him to play the way he does,” said Ron Rivera after the game. “He likes to thrive in these types of [situations], trying to make the type of plays to help us win football games. That’s what makes him a special player. He wants that type of responsibility. He wants the ball in his hands and we were able to put him in that position.”

The award is Newton’s 10th career NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Since Newton entered the league, only Aaron Rodgers (14) has won more NFC weekly awards than Newton.

Josh Klein on Twitter
Josh Klein
Editor-In-Chief at The Riot Report
Josh Klein is Editor-In-Chief of The Riot Report. His favorite Panther of all time is Chad Cota and he once AIM chatted with Kevin Greene. Follow Josh on Twitter @joshkleinrules.