The NFL's reigning MVP sat out the opening play of this weekend's tie against the Seattle Seahawks.
Cam Newton, voted the NFL's most valuable player at the end of last season, had to miss the opening play of the Panthers game against the Seahawks.
Not because he was injured.
Not because of tactical reasons.
But because he wore a turtleneck.
Turtlenecks are a controversial piece of attire at the best of times but we would say that it's pretty harsh to bench your best player because of this.
https://twitter.com/any_event_media/status/805812312263299072
Actually, one of the rules that Panthers head coach, Ron Rivera, implements at the Carolina based franchise is that all of his players MUST wear neck ties when travelling to games.
This seemed lost on Newton as he decided to sport a dashing black turtle neck with matching hat and dark grey coat.
Bold fashion statement indeed.
Rivera decided to discipline the quarter-back by benching him for the opening play, a decision which proved costly.
Backup quarter-back for the Panthers, Derek Anderson, threw an intercept pass on the very first play.
Not exactly what you want from your opening drive against one of the league's toughest teams.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/805586155525677056
To be fair to Derek Anderson, his receiver really should have caught this ball.
And as controversial as the turtleneck was, it wasn't the only the only major talking point from the game.
Seahawks safety, Earl Thomas, broke his leg during the game (fractured tibia) and tweeted afterwards that he is considering retirement.
https://twitter.com/Earl_Thomas/status/805606919175970816
The Seahawks went on to win the game 40-7.
Catch up with this week's episode of Football Friday Live
