Andrew Weber / USA Today Sports

CHARLOTTE – It’s not every day a backup quarterback has to stand up for his teammates. But that didn’t stop Derek Anderson from having Cam Newton’s back Sunday.

Anderson went nose-to-facemask for several seconds on the sideline with Chicago Bears rookie defensive tackle Will Sutton, who dived into Newton’s legs as the Carolina Panthers star decelerated out of bounds in the third quarter.

What’d Anderson say to touch off the confrontation?

“I just said, ‘That’s some B.S.’ and he went nuts.” Anderson told USA TODAY Sports after the game. “It was unnecessary. Our guys weren’t pushing their guys out of bounds all day. He was diving at our guy for no reason. It was just kind of dirty.”

Anderson chuckled at Sutton’s response, which amounted to “a bunch of crap” before cooler heads prevailed.

Sutton eventually was restrained by teammates and pulled back onto the field after the play, a Newton scramble that gained two yards before he tried to step out into the Carolina bench area.

“That’s all I was getting at – unnecessary,” Anderson said. “He freaked out.”

No flag was thrown on Sutton. But Anderson’s reaction was understandable, given that he was the nearest man to the spot where the Panthers’ most important player had gone down.

Newton has been banged up all season and appeared to injure his throwing elbow on the Panthers’ first series. But he stayed in the game, passed 255 yards and two touchdowns with an interception and knocked down Bears linebacker Lance Briggs with a block on a reverse as Carolina rallied to win 31-24.

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