3 things the Panthers learned against the Bills

1. Cam Newton tried to be mature

It would have been very easy for Newton to ignore Kelvin Benjamin before last night’s game. The Bills receiver, after all, took public shots at his quarterback this week. Benjamin made it very clear he didn’t enjoy his time in a Panthers uniform or trying to catch passes from Newton.

Instead, the talented quarterback tried to take the high road. He clearly approached Benjamin before the game and tried to engage him in some sort of conversation. No one knows exactly what was said by either party, but it was obvious Benjamin walked away right in the middle of whatever Newton had to say. Predictably, that didn’t sit well with the Panthers quarterback.

In fairness, it’s possible Newton approached Benjamin with less than polite words. That doesn’t seem likely though. Such an approach would have almost certainly elicited an immediately negative reaction from Benjamin. His recent comments make it clear he isn’t shy about showing his negativity.

The much more likely truth is that Newton tried to give Benjamin an opportunity to clarify his comments. The old Newton would have done everything possible to wind his adversary up. He’s never going to be a diplomat, but this was a solid effort by Newton to be the bigger man.