The wonderful yet violent world of the NFL returned to our television screens Thursday night, in dramatic and dangerous fashion.
The Broncos won a thriller over the Panthers 21-20, but the beating Cam Newton took from the Denver defense was eye-opening, and frankly, appalling.
Newton was struck in the helmet on five documented occasions, none of which were flagged by officials. He also limped off the field with a lower body injury, laying on the turf in agony. There will be pressure from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to send a strong message to the Broncos — don’t rule out some form of punishment.
After the game, the NFL Network showed the highlight of the game, but refused to televise any of the vicious helmet-to-helmet hits Newton absorbed. The sweeping under the rug continues from the NFL. The public isn’t playing stupid anymore, though.
Luckily the people at Deadspin created a compilation of the man-hunting mission the Broncos went on.
The Broncos went at Cam Newton's head all night: https://t.co/4HxmQLA88m pic.twitter.com/gQPsnraOFJ
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 9, 2016
Newton’s arrival to his press conference was delayed as he received treatment. He confirmed he did go through a sideline concussion protocol, but also used an expletive to explain how much pain he was in.
Football brings people together for the enjoyment of the game. But the year 2016 has the feel of this 1960’s-type revolutionary year — the Kaepernick protest, political unrest — where fans really start to push back against the league. Social media is controlling the conversation of the game, and users were not happy to see Newton’s head treated like a piñata.
The Panthers will have three extra days to prepare for the 49ers, but at the moment, Newton’s status could be up in the air for the Week 2 matchup.