CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On a night when the Carolina Panthers needed quarterback Cam Newton to be Superman, he showed up as Clark Kent.
The player who celebrates touchdowns by exposing an imaginary "S" on his chest completed a career-low 35.7 percent of his passes for a career-low 39.4 passer rating in Thursday night's 28-10 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
He missed his first pass long -- over wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin deep over the middle -- and finished with a season-high nine overthrows.
When the outcome remained in the balance with 13 minutes remaining and New Orleans leading 21-7, Newton missed Benjamin high again over the middle on third-and-goal from the 14.
Newton never gave the Panthers (3-5-1) a chance to win a game that was critical to their dwindling hopes of repeating as NFC South champions.
"I knew I missed a lot of throws," Newton said after the Panthers fell to 1-5-1 over their past seven games. "I'm not blaming anybody but myself."
To put all the blame on Newton would be unfair. He had an undrafted rookie making his first start at left tackle and another at left guard making his second start. He was under duress much of the night.
Benjamin dropped what seemed like a routine touchdown in the third quarter, and Brenton Bersin had a ball go through his hands in the second quarter that turned into an interception.
But when you're the franchise quarterback, you're sometimes expected to put the team on your back and carry it.
Newton couldn't.
He failed to generate points after the defense forced two first-half turnovers when the game was scoreless. He got the ball to tight end Greg Olsen only three times after connecting with him just once the week before.
Newton's second-quarter fumble recovered by New Orleans (4-4) at the Carolina 4-yard line set up the Saints' first touchdown.
Was Newton pressing?
"Obviously, I didn't do enough being that the Panthers lost," said Newton, who completed 10 of 28 pass attempts for 151 yards.
Carolina had a chance to make this a game in the first half -- and even early in the second half, when Newton tried his best to be Superman on a 10-yard touchdown run in which he went parallel to the ground for the final four yards.
"My job is to put my team in the best situation to win the football game, and when that doesn't happen, the first person you look to on the offensive side is the quarterback," Newton said. "I didn't get that job done."
Not capitalizing on the turnovers was Newton's biggest downfall.
"Killed us," said Olsen, not putting the blame on any one player. "The defense is playing its tail off, and at one point they give us the ball at midfield. We didn't even get a field goal.
"Zero points. It's not the recipe for winning."
There were opportunities to make plays, particularly against the league's No. 31 pass defense. Newton tried 10 times to hit Benjamin. They connected only twice.
That Newton consistently overthrew a 6-foot-5 receiver pretty much summed up his night.
That he was so horribly off was surprising, considering that a few weeks ago Olsen said his quarterback never has thrown better.
"Everybody's looking for a magic play," Newton said. "Everybody's looking for somebody to say something, for somebody to do something and take responsibility for themselves.
"I know I am. I need to be better. I need to play better. I feel like if I do that, we're moving in the right direction."
He needs to play like he has an "S" on his chest.