Early in Saturday night’s NFL Honors, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was named the Associated Press offensive player of the year.
That wasn’t the only award he wound up taking home before the night was out. As widely expected, Newton was also named the winner of the Most Valuable Player award. With Ron Rivera taking coach of the year honors, it was a good night for the Panthers although they’d gladly bump it down to the second-best night of the weekend with a victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara on Sunday night.
Newton’s regular season -- voting was done before the playoffs -- included 35 passing touchdowns despite losing top receiver Kelvin Benjamin for the season due to a torn ACL, 10 rushing touchdowns and, of course, 15 wins in 16 tries as the Panthers raced to the top record in the league. While the Panthers got strong seasons from many players, everything on offense flowed through Newton and his play, which included just one inteception over the final eight games of the season, lifted the team well beyond most people’s expectations.
Newton was not a unanimous choice as Tom Brady and Carson Palmer each received one vote, but he was an overwhelming one.