Earlier this season, Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, a College Park native, joined some elite company when he surpassed 4,000 career yards rushing in the NFL.
In a Thursday night game against he Miami Dolphins on Nov. 13, Newton became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to reach that mark.
Newton now has 4,261 career rushing yards. Only former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick (6,109), Randall Cunningham (4,928) and Steve Young (4.239) have rushed for more than 4,000 yards.
Newton, 28, also was the youngest to reach 4,000, and he appears on pace to catch Vick.
This season, Newton has rushed for 695 yards and seven touchdowns. In the previous meeting with the Falcons, on Nov. 5, Newton rushed for 86 yards.
“This is a very big man that we’ve got to get on the ground,” Falcons defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel said.
The Panthers had talked about Newton not running so much over the offseason.
“Cam Newton has deliberately made his mind up that he’s going to run the football this season,” Manuel said. “What better challenge can you ask for. You have to be prepared and disciplined.”
The Falcons expect Newton to keep trying to run.
“Just play discipline football,” linebacker Vic Beasley said. “We understand that they are going to try to establish the run. With the read-option, you have to play discipline football.”
The Falcons believe they’ll be better prepared for Newton this time.
“They do a lot of misdirection stuff,” Beasley said. “Just reading your keys. Just everybody doing their job. If one man doesn’t do their job, he could be out the gate.”
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