Cam Newton set a NFL record for passing yards in a player’s first game with 422 in the 28-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Yes Cam Newton broke Peyton Manning’s record when he passed for 422 yards in the most impressive quarterback debut in NFL history.

Cam Newton’s debut against the Arizona Cardinals ended with him completing 24 of 37 passes for 422 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Yes the Carolina Panthers did lose the game to the Arizona Cardinals but may well have found the all elusive Franchise Quarterback that every team craves. Of course only the future will tell us if Cam is indeed the player most Panther fans want him to be.

I was very impressed with the poise that Cam Newton showed in his NFL debut against the Cardinals. Even when things went bad from the blitzes multiple sacks and the interception, Newton stayed calm. He did get an unsportsmanlike penalty for his celebration after a quarterback sneak for a touchdown but that’s ok.

Oh yeah that Steve Smith dude? He’s baaaaaaack! Steve Smith caught eight passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Newton also made use of the tight ends as Greg Olsen caught four passes for 78 yards and Jeremy Shockey caught three for 51 yards. Second year wideout Brandon LaFell also had a nice game with one really nice catch among his four receptions for 70 yards.

The bad news for the Carolina Panthers other than actually losing the game was the injury to middle linebacker Jon Beason who may have ruptured his Achilles. We should know more about Beason’s injury on Monday.

Kevin Kolb also had a nice debut with his new team, the Arizona Cardinals. Kolb completed 18 of 27 passes for 309 yards and two scores. Wideout Early Doucet was the star receiver for the Cardinals with three receptions for 105 yards including a 70 yard touchdown. Run blocking former Panther tight end Jeff King caught a 48 yard touchdown pass which must have thrilled him beyond measure. Rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson looked shaky on defense at times but had a long punt return for a touchdown for the Cardinals.

The Panthers lost Cam Newton’s NFL debut to the Cardinals due to poor line play on both sides of the ball. Beanie Wells had 90 yards rushing against the Panthers in a solid day. The defensive tackles need to improve but they will. The Panthers offensive line allowed Cam Newton to be sacked four times and didn’t run block overly well either.

The Panthers won the time of possession battle by over five minutes but had 10 penalties for 74 yards and that hurt the team. The defensive backs actually played better than I expected and held Larry Fitzgerald to three catches for 74 yards.

We will have a good idea about how good the Carolina Panthers are when they play the Packers next week. I am so impressed with Cam Newton’s first start that I feel much better about the team than I did at this time yesterday.