Patriots sticking with Cam Newton at QB despite struggles

The New England Patriots are in uncharted territory. After Thursday’s night 24-3 loss to the Rams, they dropped to 6-7 on the season. That guarantees they won’t reach 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2002. Also, there slim playoff hopes are all but gone as well.

The issues behind their struggles are complex, but a lot of people are pointing the blame at starting quarterback Cam Newton, who hasn’t exactly filled the major void left by Tom Brady’s offseason departure.

On Thursday, he completed just nine of 16 passes for a measly 119 yards, and threw one costly interception that blew the game wide open. He was eventually benched in favor of Jarrett Stidham early in the 4th quarter, which many thought signalled a sign of things to come for the Patriots.

But on Friday, Bill Belichick put the rumors of a possible quarterback change to rest.

“He’s our quarterback. I think I just answered that one.” said Belichick following the game.

He also appears happy with Stidham’s development in his sophomore NFL season.

“Jarrett has worked hard. He’s tried to take advantage of his opportunities. But that’s not really the point.”

The Patriots will host the 8-4 Miami Dolphins in their next game on December 20th.