Down 31-9 against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots decided to make a switch at the quarterback position. Starter Cam Newton was sent to the bench midway through the third quarter, with second-year backup Jarrett Stidham taking over.
Newton’s performance against Buffalo looked like a lot of his games so far this season. The former league MVP had some good moments, but ultimately was unable to string enough positive plays together or put the offense in a position to succeed on a play-by-play basis. When he was pulled, the 31-year-old had completed 5 of his 10 pass attempts for 34 yards as well as 24 yards and a touchdown on four rushing attempts.
Now, he was benched in favor of Stidham for the second time in the last three weeks. While it remains to be seen how much more successful — if at all — the former fourth-round pick will be, inserting him into the lineup will allow New England’s coaches to get an extended look at the only quarterback under contract with the team beyond the 2020 season.