Cam Newton isn’t mincing words anymore. After Josh Allen missed a wide-open receiver by roughly eight feet on what could’ve been a game-winning throw, the former MVP raised the question few in NFL media seem willing to ask out loud: If that was Lamar Jackson, would the reaction be the same?
Advertisement
Newton’s answer was clear. Absolutely not. On his 4th & 1 podcast, Cam pushed back hard on how quickly Allen’s mistake was brushed aside. Some analysts chalked it up to bad timing. Others argued the pass still should’ve been caught. Newton wasn’t buying any of it.
“Game changers gotta make that throw,” Newton said. “There’s a lot of things Josh Allen does great—and I’ll stand on the table and say that—but he is not held to the same standards as Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson.”
That’s the crux of Cam’s argument: not that Josh Allen isn’t elite, but that the margin for error around him is far wider. When Allen misses, it’s “he knows better.” When Lamar misses, it’s a referendum on whether he can play quarterback at all.
Newton framed the conversation around how we define a true “game changer.” In his view, elite quarterbacks eventually separate themselves with one of two things: an MVP or a Super Bowl appearance. Patrick Mahomes has both, multiple times over. Lamar Jackson has two MVPs, but no Super Bowl yet. Joe Burrow doesn’t have an MVP, but he’s been to the Super Bowl. Josh Allen has an MVP, but no Super Bowl appearances.
Yet somehow, Newton argues, Allen consistently escapes the heat.
“Tell me why. I don’t know. Tell me how. I don’t know. I’m just here to call the facts the facts.”
Cam even pointed out the irony of Allen’s MVP season still being viewed as “controversial,” largely because it didn’t end with a deep playoff run. And now, with Patrick Mahomes no longer looming as Allen’s annual postseason nemesis, Newton believes the excuses are running out.
“You don’t got no excuses to not have a deep playoff push.”
Lamar Jackson hasn’t been fully healthy this season, and it’s shown since early October. Joe Burrow battled through a toe injury of his own, but when he returned, the Bengals visibly changed. Still, Newton emphasized that perception follows Lamar differently.
Still, Newton’s larger argument wasn’t about excuses or stylistic bias; it was about accountability. In his view, Josh Allen’s mistakes are too often minimized as isolated lapses rather than evaluated as defining moments, especially when they come in high-leverage situations.
The former Panther stressed that elite quarterbacks are ultimately judged on whether they convert the routine plays and elevate when the moment demands it. Misses in those spots matter, regardless of reputation, highlight reels, or past accolades. That standard, he argued, hasn’t consistently been applied to Allen, particularly when compared to how quickly narratives shift around other top quarterbacks after similar errors.
“Josh Allen knows better—but you gotta make the layups. You gotta make the simple better than anybody else, and make elite plays look normal.”
All of this comes as Allen plays through a lingering right foot injury, suffered against Cleveland and aggravated versus Philadelphia. Despite missing midweek practices, he’s been cleared to start against the Jets.
The Bills are 11–5, locked into a Wild Card spot, but likely won’t host a playoff game, possibly marking the final postseason football at Highmark Stadium before the new venue opens in 2026.
Allen’s durability remains unquestioned. He’s started 121 straight regular-season games (134 including playoffs), the longest active streak among NFL quarterbacks. That streak will continue Sunday, even as Buffalo’s Super Bowl window once again feels uncertain.
