Fantasy Football Week 3: Will Cam Newton Come Down to Earth Against Jaguars?

The minute Cam Newton finished off a 422-yard performance in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals, most agreed that there was simply no way he was going to do it again.

And he didn't. In Week 2 against the Green Bay Packers, Newton upped his passing yardage to 432 yards. He went the other way, you see.

Obviously, you have to tip your cap to the guy. Newton has been everything the Panthers hoped he would be, and much more. I said it last week, and I'll say it again this week: Maybe the Panthers knew what they were doing after all.

I'll also ask the question that so many of us asked last week: Where does Newton go from here?

I have to admit, that question was much easier to answer last week, when all you had to say was that the only way to go was down. Now, I'm not so sure. At this rate, Newton's as much a lock to throw for 442 yards as he is to have his first (official) NFL stinker.

But let's stop and consider the matchup. The Panthers are set to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that by most accounts is pretty terrible.

To illustrate that point, you have to look away from Jacksonville's opening win over Tennessee. Their true colors were on display in their 32-3 loss to the New York Jets, a game in which the Jags committed four turnovers and let Mark Sanchez complete better than 70 percent of his passes.

The silver lining, though, is that Sanchez only threw for 182 yards, and was picked off twice. Couple that with the fact the Jags handled Matt Hasselbeck pretty well in Week 1, and it's apparent that they play some pretty solid defense.

They might, but it seems just as reasonable to me to deduce that the Jags capitalized on facing two of the league's lesser quarterbacks. And right now, that's something that Newton is not.

No matter which way you prefer to spin it, I see no reason why the Panthers would change their game plan. Now that they know Newton can play (an understatement), they may as well turn him loose week in and week out. Another high-yardage game is very much in the cards.

My concern is whether or not he can add some touchdowns to those yards, and I think he will. While I highly doubt the Jags are going to let Luke McCown go out there and throw four picks again, I do have a feeling the Panthers will be playing with short fields for the bulk of the day. That will make things easier for Newton.

I feel like saying "the sky's the limit" here, but I think that would be a bit much. If I had to guess as far as numbers go, I think you can expect at least 300 yards passing, a pair of touchdowns, and a pick from Newton in Week 3.

Not great, to be sure. But hey, you take numbers like those from your quarterback. Especially one who was supposed to be a bust.