Cam Newton Benched for Jarrett Stidham in 3rd Quarter of Bills vs. Patriots

The Jarrett Stidham era in New England is here, at least until the end of the fourth quarter.

Trailing the Buffalo Bills by 22 points midway through the third quarter, the New England Patriots pulled Cam Newton in favor of the second-year quarterback, who has yet to start throughout his time in New England.

Newton was successful on just five of his 10 passes, compiling 34 yards and a rushing score with the Patriots losing 31-9 upon his exit.

Stidham has seen action in four games this season, including two other games when the hole was too large for the team to crawl out of—a 33-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and a Week 14 blowout at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams.

He played 25 snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4 (a 26-10 loss), though he replaced backup quarterback Brian Hoyer since Newton was sidelined following his positive test for COVID-19.

More recently, Stidham saw nine snaps in garbage time during a 45-0 rout of the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13.

In total, the 2019 fourth-round pick was 18-of-33 with 212 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions this season entering Monday.

Newton, meanwhile, has been inconsistent in his 14 starts for New England this season. He has totaled 2,415 passing yards, a far cry from his previous career low when he tallied 3,127 through 14 games in 2014.

But Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been steadfast in his willingness to stick with the 31-year-old. He has dodged questions about the quarterback battle in radio appearances and press conferences.

Stidham signed a four-year, $3.15 million contract with the Patriots out of Auburn, and the 24-year-old is the only rostered quarterback for the upcoming season since Newton's one-year deal will all but expire at the end of next week as the Patriots miss out on the playoffs for the first time since 2008.