Kyle Allen has played extremely well for the Carolina Panthers since taking over for Cam Newton, which has led to questions about whether Newton will be relegated to a bench role even when his foot injury is fully healed. One person who might recommend that the Panthers stick with Allen is Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
Rich Eisen of NFL Network says Bowles told him in a pre-broadcast meeting last week that the Bucs were having more trouble preparing to face Allen than they had scheming against Newton in Week 2. He said a lot of that had to do with Carolina’s offense spreading things around more with Allen.
Todd Bowles told us in our pre-broadcast meeting that the Allen-QBed team presented more of a challenge to defend than the Week 2 Cam QBed team. Said, among other issues, Allen finds his outlets better
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 14, 2019
Also said with the Cam QBed team, he could focus his defense on the mesh point between Cam and McCaffrey because “85 percent of the offense” was centered right there. Not the case with Allen.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 14, 2019
Bowles probably meant that more as a compliment to Allen than a knock on Newton, but it says a lot. The Panthers have not lost a game since Allen took over for Newton, and the former undrafted free agent has thrown seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He has an impressive passer rating of 106.6 and is consistently putting the Panthers in position to win.
A report from over the weekend indicated Allen may keep his starting job even when Newton is healthy, and Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman says there is a feeling around the league that Newton’s days in Carolina could be numbered.
Willie McGinnest said this is Kyle Allen’s team and Cam Newton will be on another team next year.
I know that sounds crazy but I don’t think it is.
Also, more than a few people in the league believe this.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) October 13, 2019
For what it’s worth, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera gave away very little about the team’s future plans following Sunday’s blowout win over Tampa. He really doesn’t have to, because winning is all that matters in the NFL. If the Panthers keep winning games, they are going to stall Newton’s recovery from a foot injury as long as possible.
