Belichick praises Cam Newton's unselfishness, performance in Patriots debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Cam Newton's first game with the New England Patriots was a resounding success.
The Patriots earned a 21-11 win over the Miami Dolphins in their Week 1 matchup Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
Newton completed 15 of 19 passes for 155 yards, but did most of his damage on the ground with 75 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
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On his second touchdown, Newton let Patriots center David Andrews -- who missed all of the 2019 season due to blood clots -- spike the ball in celebration.
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It was another display of Newton supporting his teammates and being a team-first player.
"Cam's been great for us. He's a very, very unselfish player," Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said after the victory. "He's a great teammate. He's earned everybody's respect daily. He just continues to do everything that he can to help our team, and that's really all you can ask from anyone. He continually does that. He puts himself last and the team first. He's done a tremendous job there."
Led by Newton, the Patriots rushing attack tallied 217 yards on 42 attempts (5.2 yards per carry). The only turnover on offense was a N'Keal Harry fumble at the goal line that sailed out of bounds through the end zone for a touchback.
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Overall, it was a pretty good effort from Newton and the Patriots offense when you consider all the roster changes from last season and the lack of preseason game reps.
"I thought (Newton) played well today," Belichick said. "He hit a lot of passes, he ran the ball well, he led the team. He made some good checks and adjustments. I thought he did a good job.
"Look, there's room for improvement from all of us. I'm not saying it was the best executed game in the history of football. We did some good things in all three phases of the game and we're proud of that. We'll go back and work on the things we need to do better. But I thought he did a good job for us."
The Patriots have a tough Week 2 matchup on the road against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night.
