Cam Newton Comments on Clay Matthews Exchange Caught on Video

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said he exchanged smiles with running back Christian McCaffrey after Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews told his fellow defenders to expect a wheel route on the rookie's seven-yard touchdown catch in Sunday's game.

On Wednesday, David Newton of ESPN.com passed along further details from Newton about the interaction between Matthews and himself, which was caught on video, before McCaffrey ran a different route to get open for the game's opening score in a 31-24 Panthers win.

"I'm mad they didn't see me and C-Mac's reaction to when he said that," he said. "It was funny. You could hear it clear as day, 'Watch the wheel route, watch the wheel route.'

"Then there was, like, a pause, and the referee was right there, and I'm looking at C-Mac, C-Mac is looking back up at me, and we're like, 'Yeah, it's the wheel route.'"

The video, which showed Newton saying, "You've been watching film, huh? That's cool. Watch this," toward Matthews, generated a lot of attention Sunday.

"(Clay) was calling us out," McCaffrey told reporters. "We heard it, it was kind of funny. ... Me and Cam kind of smirked at each other, kind of knew what was going to happen after that."

Ultimately, it didn't really matter what route the dual-threat running back ran because the Packers defense left him wide open in the flat despite Matthews' warning.

Newton noted that even though the play wasn't what the longtime Green Bay linebacker expected, Carolina will still hold a "new signals meeting a couple times this week" to mix things up.

McCaffrey has emerged as the quarterback's favorite target. He's caught a team-high 73 passes for 592 yards and five touchdowns in addition to his 102 carries for 382 yards and two scores on the ground.

The Panthers (10-4) return to action Sunday afternoon against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they attempt to earn an NFC North title and a first-round bye in the playoffs over the next two weeks.