With news surfacing on Sunday morning that Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton is in danger of landing on Injured Reserve, the focus turned to backup Kyle Allen. How is he handling the pressure of taking over for Cam Newton? Does he have a thought in the back of his mind that he is on a timeline? As it turns out, the second-year player has been able to avoid any issues with confidence due to the coaching staff putting their full support behind him.
Monday morning, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero revealed that the Panthers coaching staff never actually gave Allen a timetable for his role as the starting QB. Instead, they took a much different approach and tried to inspire confidence in the youngster.
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“Their message all along to Kyle Allen has been, ‘this is your team. Go out there and win games,’” Pelissero said on Monday.
Amidst ongoing uncertainty about Cam Newton’s return, the #Panthers‘ message has been consistent to young QB Kyle Allen, who’s now 5-1 since taking over. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/2OIm0wLU1I
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 4, 2019
This strategy has appeared to have worked out for head coach Ron Rivera and his staff considering that Allen is now 5-1 as a starter this season and has led the Panthers to second place in the NFC South. At 5-3, this team isn’t guaranteed the division crown, but they could easily take a Wild Card spot by continuing to stack victories.
Following a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which Allen threw three interceptions, there were concerns about his ability to bounce back from such a performance. However, Allen did just that when the Panthers hosted the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. He completed 53.1 percent of his throws for 232 yards and two touchdowns while partnering with running back Christian McCaffrey to lead his team to a 30-20 win. Although he did throw another interception.
Throughout his six starts in 2019, the youngster in Allen had made a large number of positive plays for his team, as well as many that hurt the Panthers. Still, the team has remained confident in his abilities to lead them to victory every week, which is one reason why Newton is being given as much time as needed to recover from a Lisfranc injury.
There is a possibility that Newton will return in 2019, but he could also land on Injured Reserve in the coming hours. Everything is on the table, but the Panthers have repeatedly expressed confidence in Allen while telling him that this is his team as long as he remains under center.
(Photo Credit: Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire/Getty)
