At the same time, Newton didn't exactly give the Giants defense much credit for the rout.
The second-year quarterback finished the game with three interceptions and completed only 16-of-30 passes. Yet, he still thinks it had to do more with the Panthers than the Giants preparation and execution.
"It was nothing they did; it was all on us," said Newton. "Of course, they have elite defensive linemen and elite players on their defense, but it wasn't so much what they did as what we didn't do."
Huh?
Whatever the reason Newton thinks the Panthers were beaten like a Grand Canyon mule, he admitted it was embarrassing.
"Who wants to support something that puts on a performance of embarrassment? If I was a fan of the Carolina Panthers, I would be holding my head down in shame of the product that was out there today."
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera wasn't as gloomy as his quarterback — nor as uncomplimentary. He conceded that the Giants outperformed his team from top to bottom.
"They were the better football team. That's then truth of the matter," said Rivera. "They out-coached us and out-played us. That's the bottom line. We came out, we didn't execute well. Then we self-destructed in a couple of different ways. You can't do that against a very good football team. That's who we played — a very good football team."
