Cam Newton is standing up for another New England quarterback.
After the Patriots’ season-opening 25-20 loss to the Eagles on Sunday, a surprisingly strong offensive performance from New England made a few analysts eat their words — like Rex Ryan, who had previously labeled quarterback Mac Jones a “peashooter.”
“Look, ‘peashooter’ Jones looked good, and I’m going to give him total credit,” Ryan said on ESPN, per Boston.com. “Oh my God, that looked like a real offense and he looked so much more confident and that’s what it’s all about.”
“Bro, you sound like a hater,” Newton said about Ryan on his new NFL show, “4th and 1.”
“Giving somebody a backhanded compliment, what was it, like the peashooter looked good? Come on, bro. It’s like, let’s have some grace.
“You took a couple L’s (losses) to New England, but you also gave them a couple L’s, so it’s a little bitterness from your days back at the Jets. It’s just giving hater, big dog.”
Newton said he wanted to bring more “accountability” into football with his new show, and he appears to be starting with Ryan.
“I feel that there was a need for accountability to be had in football as a whole. From the announcers’ standpoint, as well as the players’,” Newton said.
Newton was the Patriots quarterback in 2020, while Jones arrived in New England in 2021. The two competed in training camp before the Patriots released Newton in August 2021.
Ryan has been a vocal critic of Jones as the Patriots’ signal-caller since his rookie season when he also tagged him with the “peashooter” label.
In the Patriots’ tight loss to the defending NFC champions in their season opener, Jones outdueled Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, tossing 316 yards and three touchdowns to Hurts’ 170 yards and one score.
A New England offense that appeared somewhat suspect before the season looked competent under new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, utilizing a rushing attack with both Ezekiel Elliott and Rhamondre Stevenson, while wide receiver Kendrick Bourne scored two touchdowns.
The franchise also welcomed another familiar quarterback during the game: Tom Brady, who was honored at halftime.
