Panthers' Cam Newton on passionate outburst on first TD: 'This time last week I was eating a bowl of cereal'

It didn’t take long for Cam Newton to make an impact with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

Newton ran for a touchdown as he appeared in a goal-line package against the Arizona Cardinals. After crossing into the end zone, Newton yelled "I’m back!" He explained to reporters why he had such a passionate outburst upon scoring his first touchdown for the Panthers since 2018. He was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

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"Well, I'll put it like this. This time last week I was eating a bowl of cereal. You feel me," Newton said, via the team’s website. "So, I told Coach Rhule it would never happen again, and it wouldn't. That went on me. I was eating cereal last week, so that just puts things into perspective after going to church and being with my children and really not even watching football it was just about maximizing the person that I need to be.

"So, for that, it was all just a rush of emotions, but yet I know a lot of people in the media, the titles of the newspapers, the blogs, and things like that… they want to make it about me. It's not about me and I keep saying it's not about me. This was an impeccable team win. I am so proud of PJ (Walker) for him to look down the barrel on so many different times and deliver the ball, as well as everybody pulling together. It was exciting for us as a team, as an offense, to take turns making plays. And then when we didn't It showed. It was really sloppy football, but yet through it all I have no complaints."

CAM NEWTON SCORES 2 FIRST-QUARTER TOUCHDOWNS IN PANTHERS RETURN: 'I'M BACK!'

Panthers coach Matt Rhule said he and his staff came up with a few packages between Thursday and Saturday in hopes of getting Newton.

"He's a veteran player, so his mind is 'Hey, on this play – I've run this 100 times – and it's called this now. I think the credit goes to (Panthers Offensive Coordinator Joe Brady) and (Panthers QBs coach Sean Ryan) as well. Cam put the work in with them and there was a good feeling down in that quarterback room," Rhule said.

It was Newton’s first game in a Panthers uniform since 2019. Newton, who re-signed with the Panthers after spending 2020 and part of the 2021 season with the New England Patriots, didn’t get to start for the Panthers after only signing his one-year contract on Thursday but was put into two goal-line packages immediately.

In his first opportunity, Newton lined up in the shotgun formation from the Cardinals’ 2-yard line. He rolled to his right and barreled his way into the end zone for the Panthers touchdown.

Not too much longer after the first touchdown, Newton got his hands into the scoring again. This time, he dropped back to pass and found Robby Anderson in the end zone.

It was Newton’s first touchdowns as a member of the Panthers since the 2018 season. He only played in two games in 2019 before being lost for the season due to injury. He didn’t score in either of the first two games of the 2019 season.

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He last scored for the Panthers on Dec. 2, 2018, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had two touchdown passes.