Cam Newton Explains What Went Wrong On Final Fourth Down vs Texans

The New England Patriots lost their game against the Houston Texans. It was an unexpected loss for the Patriots because most NFL analysts predicted a win for head coach Bill Belichick and his team. For the fourth time in 10 games this regular season, Pats players found themselves driving late in the fourth quarter Sunday. They needed a touchdown to tie or take the lead in the game. For the fourth time, players came up short. Veteran quarterback Cam Newton talked about the fourth down situation.

Houston pass rushers overrun Newton on fourth-and-4 from Houston’s 24-yard line with 71 seconds left. The quarterback evaded one rusher, and then another. However, Safety Justin Reid pulled the quarterback to the turf as his pass fell incomplete. The Texans won 27-20, and New England broke the two-game winning streak.

Newton, running back James White, and coach Belichick offered their thoughts on the final fourth down.

“We had a good play called, but it just came down to execution,” Newton told media members in his postgame video conference. “They brought some pressure. I tried to make the most of it, but at the same time, that was a good defense. That (3-7 Texans) team was not an indication of what their record said. We knew that. They had a lot of talent on that team, especially defensively.”

Texans gave Cam Newton a trouble in the fourth down

Texans had seven defenders along the line of scrimmage. Five of the Texans defenders rushed, and this includes defensive back Lonnie Johnson. White was aligned to Johnson’s side, but he went to the right at the snap. Backup left tackle Jermaine Eluemunor stepped in as a replacement for injured Isaiah Wynn. He had his attention on outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

No player picked up Johnson and he came screaming undouched off the right side. Johnson reached the Patriots starting quarterback in two seconds, and Newton turned backward. Defensive end Charles Omenihu was right there. Reid and Johnson wrapped Newton and shut down the play.

“We’ve just got to identify it and block it,” coach Belichick said after the game. “They did a good job of timing them up, and we just obviously have to collectively as a team execute better against those plays.”

White shared his thoughts, too. Texans didn’t catch his team off guard.

“We just didn’t pick up the pressure properly, and it resulted in a bad play,” White said. “Knew what was coming. We just didn’t execute it properly.”

Did Newton have trouble communicating with Eluemunor?

“I wouldn’t say that,” he said. “They brought that pressure multiple times today. We knew that they were a repeat type of defense and if it hurt us one time, which it did, they will come back to it, and surely they did. So for us, it’s just a matter of understanding situational football and position guys in situations and everyone will be firing on all cylinders.”