Newton, Panthers offense struggle in extended preseason action

After their 15-1 record last season and the readdition of receiver Kelvin Benjamin, a preseason game should be a walk in the park, but it was anything but that for Cam Newton's squad Friday.

Oddly, Newton started the game and was briefly pulled in the second before being reinserted again later in the same quarter against the New England Patriots.

Led by their star quarterback, the Panthers' offense, who scored the league's most points in 2015, was rendered ineffective. Newton struggled to get in a rhythm with his receivers and routinely found himself dodging tackles in the backfield.

The reigning league MVP completed 13-of-29 passes for 100 yards with two interceptions and had one rush for nine yards as he and the first-team offense played much longer than expected.

Eventually Newton was replaced (for a second time) by Derek Anderson with 1:29 left in the third quarter, exiting the game trailing 16-3.