Rookie QB Newton impresses Rivera in his Panthers debut

Published: Sep 12, 2011 at 08:48 AM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Questions regarding Carolina Panthers rookie Cam Newton have turned from if he'll be a good NFL quarterback to how good he'll be.

At least for now.

A record-setting arms race

Quarterbacks and returnmen reigned supreme during Week 1. Here are some of the record-setting numbers:

» 7,842: The total passing yards in Week 1, an average of 245 per team.

» 906: Yards that the Patriots' Tom Brady (above) and the Dolphins' Chad Henne combined for in Monday night's matchup.

» 14: Quarterbacks who passed for more than 300 yards.

» 8: Return touchdowns, five on punts and three on kickoffs. The 49ers' Ted Ginn had one of each.

» 5: Games with a pair of 300-yard passers.

Newton ignited a Panthers offense that finished last in the NFL in total offense, passing yards and scoring last season by throwing for 422 yards in his NFL debut -- the most ever by a rookie quarterback in his first career start. His passing total was one yard shy of the team record set by Chris Weinke and the fourth-highest opening day total in NFL history.

Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Monday that Newton "exceeded expectations" but cautioned that there will be tougher times ahead for the Heisman Trophy winner out of Auburn.

"We still have some things to work on," Rivera said.

Newton threw touchdown passes of 77 and 26 yards to 32-year-old Steve Smith and ran for another score, although his bid for a game-tying drive in the final minute fell a yard short and the Panthers lost 28-21 to the Arizona Cardinals.

"He's just one of those guys when he gets in the game, there's just something about him," Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said. "There's some guys that have it, and some don't."

Newton had it Sunday. He completed 24 of 37 passes, answering lingering questions about his accuracy issues after connecting on just 40.4 percent of his passes during the preseason.

Smith said Newton answered a lot of questions.

"He did everything everybody didn't expect him to do. He was on point," Smith said. "He made some great runs, some great reads and some fantastic throws. He made some throws out there that, honestly as a receiver, it made it easy to catch them."

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