Head-Hunting of Cam Newton, Refs’ No-Calls Overshadow Great Defense by Denver

DENVER — The Broncos won. They earned it. They deserved it. They beat the Carolina Panthers with Trevor Siemian at quarterback. That is no small achievement. That is like going to the moon in a Prius.

The Broncos defense is still the best in football. With that defense, Denver will be almost impossible to beat. Yes, the Broncos are still the team to beat, even with first-time starter Siemian at quarterback.

However…

What will be the most discussed topic from this game won’t be the physical, gutsy 21-20 win. It won’t be the 50-yard attempt at a game-winner by Panthers kicker Graham Gano that went wide left. It won’t be the brilliant play of that cement block of a Denver defense.

It will be this. There has rarely, if ever, in the recent history of the NFL—which is supposed to now care about head trauma—been a quarterback treated with such ugly, disgraceful and blatant disregard for his health as Cam Newton was on Thursday.

The Broncos earned this win, so please, do not misunderstand. But what happened to Newton is truly unprecedented in the past decade, at least. Newton was treated like a quarterback playing in the 1970s, not a quarterback playing in a league that says—all the time—how it cares about its concussed players. This was like watching Ken Stabler play.

The most blatant hit came when linebacker Brandon Marshall launched into Newton’s head, the crown of Marshall’s helmet smashing into the side of Newton’s head.

That is penalty, without question, and it happened right in front of the game official. But there was no penalty.

Watch Brandon Marshall launch and target Cam Newton #TNF @NickCarboniWCNC pic.twitter.com/Gv7d8QW1JJ

— Vince Ferrara (@VinceSports) September 9, 2016

That call, literally, is the easiest to make in football. There were three other occasions when Newton was hit in the …

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