Newton on injury: 'It wasn't my head, it was my eye'

Cam Newton maintained after Sunday's wild-card game that he did not suffer a concussion during the contest and was only hit in the eye.

On the play in question, the Carolina Panthers quarterback turned and ran directly into a heavy hit from New Orleans Saints defensive tackle David Onyemata. Newton was clearly shaken up after the hit and had to be helped to the sideline. He was removed from the game for the end of the Panthers' drive.

Newton was then taken to the medical tent, but the team quickly announced he had been evaluated and cleared of a concussion. He returned to the game on Carolina's next series.

"It wasn't my head, it was my eye," Newton said at his postgame press conference. "My helmet had came down low enough over my eye lid and got pressed by a player's stomach, I believe. I thought maybe somebody stuck a finger in my eye."

Newton does wear a visor on his helmet.

The NFL stated after the game that it has been in contact with the Panthers' medical staff with regards to the situation and will have no further comment "until those conversations are completed," according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Nonetheless, the whole ordeal garnered plenty of public scrutiny.