Cam Newton named NFC Offensive Player of the Week

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced on Wednesday morning.

Newton engineered his 17th career game-winning drive and second this season to cap a comeback victory at Philadelphia. Carolina came back from down 17-0 in the fourth quarter to win 21-17 in the largest fourth quarter comeback in franchise history. It marked the first time since 1985 that a road team was held scoreless through three quarters and overcame a 17-point or more deficit to win.

In the fourth quarter, Newton threw for 201 yards on 16-of-22 passing for two touchdowns. He finished with 269 yards throwing despite only five net passing yards at halftime. On the final drive, Newton converted a fourth and 10 with a throw under duress to Torrey Smith who went 35 yards downfield. Newton then found Greg Olsen for the game-winning one-yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining.

Newton now ranks second in the NFL in fourth quarter passing yards (689) and tied for second in fourth quarter passing touchdowns (6). He has topped 200 yards in the fourth quarter in two different games this year, the only NFL QB to do so.

Along with his passing, Newton also rushed for two first downs on 49 yards rushing, passing Michael Vick for the most career rushing first downs (344) by a quarterback in NFL history.

The award is Newton’s 10th career NFC Offensive Player of the Week award. He also won an NFC Rookie of the Month award in 2011. Since 2011, only Aaron Rodgers (14) has won more NFC weekly awards than Newton.