Few accolades, if any, are as great as having a statue erected in your honor and likeness. Only a select, special few will ever get to experience that privilege. And that’s an honor both Tom Brady and Cam Newton can relish for the rest of their lives.
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The former face of the New England Patriots was recently immortalized in bronze outside Gillette Stadium, ensuring his place in both sporting and American culture. So Newton felt the need to remind folks that he was able to accomplish the same much earlier, thanks to his time at Auburn University.
“I got a statue, too,” Newton rather immaturely exclaimed during the latest episode of his 4th & 1 podcast. Although he didn’t shy away from stating that he was incapable of filling Brady’s shoes, either.
“There’s no denying the impact of Tom Brady. I had the unfortunate opportunity to try to be the quarterback after someone as great as he was,” added Newton.
It’s a bit easier for Newton to reflect on Brady’s career than others. After all, he was one of the few signal callers who ever managed to win more often than not against the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
After it was mentioned that Brady doesn’t have a losing record against any of the NFL’s 32 franchises, including Newton’s Carolina Panthers, the former regular-season MVP made sure to remind his viewers of another accolade of his: A winning head-to-head record against the GOAT.
“Go back and look at the stats,” Newton implored. Upon doing so, the record does in fact show a 2-1 record in favor of the Carolina legend.
Newton’s first victory against Brady came back in 2013 during a Monday Night Football showcase. The game saw Newton produce 271 of the Panthers’ 300 total offensive yards in a 24-20 victory.
It took another four years before Brady and Newton crossed paths again. And even though the 2017 Week 4 game was buried in the mix of the 1 pm slate, Newton and Brady were still able to put on an instant classic.
A last-minute drive from Newton proved to be enough to put Graham Gano in position for a 48-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. The 33-30 victory boosted Newton to a 2-0 record against Brady.
Their last meeting, in Week 16 of the 2020 season, was nowhere near as exciting. Newton was benched halfway through the contest in favor of Sam Darnold. Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers cruised to a 32-6 victory that day. And Newton missed out on having a perfect record against Brady.
Nevertheless, Newton is clearly content with winning two out of three. It still gives him access to some of the most exclusive bragging rights in professional football.
