For the second consecutive game, Cam Newton was in position to be the hero for the Carolina Panthers.
The offense took the field with less than four minutes to play Sunday, trailing the Dallas Cowboys by two points. The Panthers had a first down at their own 20 and two timeouts at their disposal. The stage was set for a comeback win that could have saved a spiraling season.
Instead, the Panthers went four-and-out. It was their last, best chance in a crushing 19-14 home loss.
"The past couple of games have been the same script, by the same director," Newton said. "It's kind of getting boring."
"This taste, this vibe -- I'm not buying it, man. And I don't know what it is, but something's going to have to change. Something's going to have to change real fast."
Watching a dejected Newton address the media following a dispiriting loss has become commonplace this season. This wasn't what the Panthers had in mind after Newton re-wrote the record books during his fantastic rookie campaign.
"It feels like we've been finding a way to lose the game rather than win it, offensively, defensively, on special teams," he said. "But everybody has to do better, including myself. Just take accountability."
The Panthers aren't hopeless by any stretch of the imagination -- with some better late-game execution, they could be 4-2 right now. That said, the inability to execute in the final minutes is a classic trait of a bad team.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @danhanzus.
