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Winning Washington Trolls Panthers QB Cam Newton: 'I Thought He Was Back?!'

WFT coach Ron Rivera, on leaving Carolina with a win: "It felt good. It did. It was fun, and I know it would be disappointing if it had gone the other way, but it was fun."
Mike Fisher|
Winning Washington Trolls Panthers QB Cam Newton: 'I Thought He Was Back?!'
Winning Washington Trolls Panthers QB Cam Newton: 'I Thought He Was Back?!'

The Washington Football Team is only 4-6 after recording its second straight win on Sunday, this time against the Carolina Panthers. So crowing too much seems inappropriate.

But given that Cam Newton made so much noise about his return to the Panthers - his "I'm back!'' proclamation during the week and his "Superman'' celebration'' after scoring a rushing TD here (he sprinted from the end zone to midfield to show off) - maybe the WFT is due a bit of noise.

"I thought he was back!?'' one voice hooted from the winning locker room.

Added receiver DeAndre Carter via Twitter: "Juiced we got that win for Coach Rivera!''

The Washington/Carolina/Rivera/Newton entanglement was certainly part of the story, but as Newton himself said, it wasn't about just two guys. (Or about their winning legacy together with the Panthers ... or about Rivera not calling on Cam in the last two seasons while the WFT needed a QB.)

But Cam Newton is a headline-grabber and an attention-getter. It's what he does, as evidenced by his postgame media visit.

In addition to putting up some numbers - Newton finished with 189 yards and two touchdown passes and also had 10 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown - "attention-getting'' is what he does.

So how and why should Washington ignore him?

Yes, Cam Newton is back. But with two straight wins, maybe so is Washington, which was led on offense by Taylor Heinicke (who more than matched Newton) and by a defense that secured the win late in the fourth by sacking the former MVP Newton.

Said WFT coach Ron Rivera, on leaving his old stomping grounds in Carolina with a win: "It felt good. It did. It was fun, and I know it would be disappointing if it had gone the other way, but it was fun."

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983, is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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