Cam Newton explains why he didn't dive for Super Bowl fumble

Much of the criticism directed toward Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton – at least beyond his abbreviated news conference – centered on his reaction to one of his two fumbles in Sunday’s Super Bowl 50.

Denver Broncos linebacker (and eventual Super Bowl MVP) Von Miller stripped Newton of the ball late in the fourth quarter. With the ball on the turf, it appeared Newton hesitated in his pursuit of the fumble. Denver’s T.J. Ward came away with the loose ball in one of the biggest swings in the Broncos’ 24-10 victory at Levi’s Stadium.

"I didn’t dive on one fumble because the way my leg was (positioned)," Newton told reporters in Charlotte on Tuesday. "It could have been contorted in a way. You say my effort? I didn’t dive down. I fumbled - that’s fine. That’s fine. We didn’t lose the game because of that fumble.”

But the fumble certainly was a critical play.

The Broncos took over at the Panthers' 4-yard line with four minutes remaining. Four plays later, C.J. Anderson ran the ball in from 2 yards, and the Broncos' two-point conversion gave them the 24-10 lead.

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“You can condemn me and say, ‘Well, he gave up,’ ” Newton said. “It’s easy for a person to nitpick and say, ‘He gave up.’ That’ fine. I’m a grown man. I can understand that."

A few Broncos players had theories why Newton didn’t scramble for the ball, including Ward.

"If he would have touched that ball, I was gonna hit him right in his face, and I wasn't the only one," Ward said, per NFL.com. "We were hungry for that one. We saw that ball and it was like hyenas on an antelope. And I don't know - maybe he needed to stay healthy for next year."

Follow A.J. Perez on Twitter @byajperez.

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