Viral Jalen Hurts meme resurrects bad takes on Cam Newton, Panthers Super Bowl loss

The Carolina Panthers have appeared in the Super Bowl twice. The first was following the 2003 season when they lost 32-29 to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII. The second was following the 2015 season when Cam Newton led them to a 15-1 record, but they fell to the Denver Broncos 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.

Newton, who won the 2015 NFL MVP award for his dominant season, took a lot of heat for not diving on a loose ball in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were down 16-10 with roughly four minutes to play when Von Miller caused a fumble, which Newton didn't try to recover. That was labeled a "business decision" and helped Denver seal the win.

Newton never made it back to the postseason after that, so he didn't get a chance to redeem himself. A decade later, he's still being criticized, although this time it was in the form of a meme. The Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII rebounded to beat the Chiefs this past season in Super Bowl LIX.

That led to a meme praising Hurts for his response to the previous title loss while knocking Newton for never getting another chance.

You can respond to life in two ways pic.twitter.com/oMbYpcAZ1F
— 𝗘𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 🦅 (@EaglesScoutRoom) July 3, 2025

While the Eagles should be praised, the comparison between Hurts and Newton is historically bad. Newton led the Panthers to the Super Bowl with tight end Greg Olsen as his No. 1 target. Next to him, he had Ted Ginn Jr. and Jerricho Cotchery to lean on. Even on the ground Newton did most of the heavy-lifting since they didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher.

Hurts, on the other hand, had a 2,000-yard rusher in Saquon Barkley. For comparison, Barkley had five touchdowns in their playoff run while Jonathan Stewart, Carolina's top rusher outside of Newton, had six throughout the 2015 campaign.

Philadelphia also had A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith along with Dallas Goedert at tight end.

Hurts deserves credit for how well he played, but the ones who responded well for the Eagles after the Super Bowl loss all sit in the front office. Which is where the blame falls for Carolina's inability to get back into the championship picture.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is introduced before the game at Bank of America Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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