CHARLOTTE — When Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera walked up to the podium at Bank of America Stadium on Tuesday for his post-Eagles question-and-answer session, he started before taking any questions.

“No, he’s not injured,” Rivera told reporters.

“He” is quarterback Cam Newton, who according to a Fox Sports report, has a right foot injury caused by overcompensation from the lingering soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle.

But Rivera made a point to refute the report. He claimed Newton is not dealing with anything other than some occasional soreness in his left ankle, or in the ribs he cracked during the preseason.

“I have no idea where (the report) came from,” Rivera said. “I’m taking (Newton) for his word. He told you guys last night he’s fine. The doctors have nothing on it. The trainers have nothing on it.”

But to most who have watched Newton struggle the last few weeks, it appears he is not the same player he was his first three seasons. He looked especially less dynamic Monday night. Guys like Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin, who Newton would previously have run past, were instead able to chase him down.

When asked if the current Newton is as elusive as the player the Panthers had before this season, Rivera quickly answered: “Yeah. When he decides to run and go, absolutely. Absolutely.”

Even though they were getting blown out, and he was in the process of getting sacked a career-high nine times, the Panthers curiously let Newton finish the game.

Rivera said it was to help the offense establish a rhythm they have been missing during a losing streak that has now reached four games.

Newton and receiver Kelvin Benjamin did connect for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but keeping Newton in while the Eagles were teeing off on him was a risky chance to take with the franchise’s most-important player.

And those fears seemed perfectly reasonable even before the FOX Sports report.

“Yes, because, again, I’m under the assumption that he’s fine on the field,” Rivera said, when pressed about leaving Newton in so the offense could try to get something positive going.

“Talking to the trainers, talking to the doctors, there was nothing. And talking to him, there was nothing.”

So Rivera, Newton and team trainers and doctors all say there is nothing to see here. But if this is a glimpse of who Newton is now, then the Panthers could have a whole lot of nothing to look forward to in the immediate future.

REPORT CARD VS. EAGLES

PASSING OFFENSE: F — Cam Newton finished with a season-high 306 yards, but that number is highly misleading. The passing offense was mostly inept before Newton bulked up his numbers after the game had long been lost. Former Carolina coach John Fox was a big fan of reminding everyone the passing game “has lots of moving parts,” and most of those parts are faulty right now. The offensive line, which had gotten healthier during the “mini-bye,” was a disaster. They were steamrolled by the Eagles, who racked up a mind-boggling nine sacks. For the most part, the line gave Newton no shot, but he again contributed to his own problems. His accuracy was off, and too much of his decision making was questionable (see: three interceptions and his choice to chuck a deep ball to Jerricho Cotchery on fourth-and-one instead of either running for a first down or throwing to closer targets). About the only thing the Panthers’ passing game got right was that Greg Olsen finished with a career-high 119 yards after two unusually quiet games.

RUSHING OFFENSE: F — It’s not like the offensive line was much better in the running game than they were while protecting Newton, but it’s time for Jonathan Stewart to start over DeAngelo Williams. Williams averaged a paltry 2.4 yards on 13 carries, and he fumbled away the Panthers’ first possession. Williams had a bit of a career renaissance last year, but Father Time may have finally gotten to him. Stewart didn’t have a whole lot of success himself, but he gained 59 total yards and scored the Panthers’ only touchdown. It also didn’t help that Newton went back to being a non-factor on the ground, rushing twice for six yards. In his first three seasons, he never had fewer than four carries in a game. He’s now had only two carries three times this season.

PASS DEFENSE: F — Mark Sanchez looked good. That’s not good for the Panthers. Some figured they caught a break when Eagles starting quarterback Nick Foles broke his collarbone last week, but for one night at least, Sanchez looked like a great fit in Chip Kelly’s offense. Making his first start since he flamed out with the Jets two years ago, Sanchez threw for the fourth-highest yardage total (332) of his career. Usually error-prone, Sanchez didn’t throw an interception, and he tossed two touchdowns to rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews. The Panthers barely laid a finger on Sanchez, sacking him once. The pass rush was nonexistent, which exposed the suspect secondary yet again.

RUSH DEFENSE: B-plus — So not everything was a complete disaster. The Panthers wanted to take away the run, and they did that to near perfection. LeSean McCoy gained only 19 yards on 12 carries, and the Eagles averaged a measly 1.6 yards on 23 carries. But McCoy and Darren Sproles did run in a couple short scores.

SPECIAL TEAMS: F — Punt coverage has been shaky since the preseason, and it finally popped a big leak. Sproles, who was a thorn in the Panthers’ side for so long with the Saints, went essentially untouched for 65 yards on a punt return touchdown late in the first quarter. That was an especially big moment considering the Panthers had cut their early 10-point deficit to three a couple minutes earlier. With hometown kid Philly Brown inactive, Brenton Bersin was less-than-impressive as a returner. Fozzy Whittaker did provide a bit of a spark, averaging 35 yards on his two kickoff returns.

COACHING: F — The Panthers’ winless streak is at five games, and there are more and more signs that the wheels may be completely falling off. Head coach Ron Rivera’s decision to have Newton finish the blowout loss was curious, at best. And the Panthers are not only losing games, they continue to get blown out. They lost their three prime-time games this season by a combined score of 110-50, and they have given up 40 more points than they allowed all of last season.