Cam Newton scolds Stephen A. Smith over Lamar Jackson: ‘Watch what you say’

Cam Newton is accusing Stephen A. Smith of holding Lamar Jackson to a different standard than he holds Josh Allen.

Friday morning on First Take, Smith, Newton and Canty were previewing this week’s Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup by assessing whether a win would be a bigger statement for Jackson or Russell Wilson. According to Smith, Jackson has more to lose than gain in this game, claiming the Ravens are expected to beat Pittsburgh. Newton paused the segment to give Smith a PSA.

“I need to make this point on national TV,” Newton said. “Stephen A., you must watch what you say about Lamar Jackson and I don’t appreciate it. And respectfully, I see how you talk about Lamar and those certain things, it’s like, bro, he’s just the greatest quarterback in the league.”

Smith, however, argued that he’s just holding Jackson to the same standard that Newton was held to when he was playing and named league MVP.

“When you were playing,” Smith told Newton. “We gave you your love, we gave you your respect, we gave you your appreciation, but in the same breath, we were like, ‘Yo, where’s the chip?’ We ain’t gonna sit up there and fast forward a decade later and let other people off the hook. We’re gonna hold everybody to the same damn standard…So no, Cam Newton. I am not going to watch what I say about Lamar Jackson…he got to deliver, and I’m going to say the same thing about Josh Allen. He’s got to deliver too.”

Newton and Canty were both gearing up to call Smith out again, until he added Allen to the end of his rant.

“As long as you include Josh Allen in that same breath when you talk about Lamar Jackson,” Canty said.

“That’s all I’m saying,” Newton added in agreement with Canty.

While Smith maintained he’s holding both quarterbacks to the same championship or bust standard, he did add that Allen has performed better than Jackson throughout their careers in the playoffs. The sentiment implied Allen has already proved he’s capable of winning a championship, even though he hasn’t been able to get Buffalo over the hump and into a Super Bowl.

It’s a little surprising to hear Newton urge Smith to lay off Jackson. Because Jackson faces far less scrutiny than Newton did during his NFL playing career. Part of that is because Jackson does get criticized for losing in the playoffs, but by the time the next regular season rolls around, everyone is so wowed by his performance that they start to forget about those January losses.

[First Take]