Cam Newton got too excited and cost the Panthers a touchdown

One of the great things about Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is his exuberance. On Thursday night, he got a little too excited.

His teammate, linebacker A.J. Klein, picked off a pass and was returning it 95 yards for a touchdown in Thursday’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. You can see why Newton would be happy. The problem came when Newton rushed onto the field a little too early, while the play was still going on. He was penalized, officially for “illegal substitution,” for being on the field during the play.

And Klein no longer had a touchdown. It was nullified, and the Panthers took over at the Ravens’ 26-yard line instead. Luckily, Carolina scored later that drive. Even more luckily, the preseason doesn’t count so nobody would have cared if they didn’t.

Newton’s penalty was basically part of the “Joey Porter Rule.” The NFL wants to keep players and coaches on the sideline (Porter came off the sideline in a wild-card playoff game last year and it led to the Cincinnati Bengals arguing with him and getting a key 15-yard penalty) and that’s a point of emphasis for the officials. Newton said he wished he had been warned before the penalty flag was thrown, and didn’t really seem interested in having a philosophical talk about the play.

“I don’t want to have a discussion about something that I’ve learned from,” Newton said, according to ESPN.com. “You live and you learn. … It happened. We all learned something as a team. We’re moving forward.”

It’s not like Newton’s teammates were upset. In fact, they seemed pretty impressed.

“But you know what the great thing is? He’s actually engaged in the game,” Panthers safety Kurt Coleman told the Charlotte Observer. “He was excited for the defense. He got the flag, but he’s actually in the game. That shows a lot about himself.”

We all know Newton likes to get excited about football. He just learned on Thursday that when he’s excited for his defensive teammates, he’ll have to contain his celebration to the sideline.