There were so many questions entering the season as to how well Cam Newton would perform as a passer. Week 1 did not disappoint. On early downs in the game’s first three quarters, Newton averaged 8.5 YPA with a 76% success rate. That was up from 6.6 YPA and a 49% success rate from Tom Brady last year.
One of the best things the Patriots did was to simply avoid third downs by performing well on early downs. Only 9.5% of Camp’s attempts were on third down. Compare that to Tom Brady last year, who was up at 27%.