Cam Newton criticised for not jumping on ball following key Super Bowl 50 fumble

Carolina Panthers quarterback appeared to jump out of the way

(Getty Images)

NFL MVP Cam Newton was heavily criticised after he failed to jump on a loose ball that led to the Denver Broncos scoring a touchdown less than a minute later.

The Carolina Panthers quarterbacks, one of the League's biggest stars, had the ball knocked out of his hands by Broncos linebacker Von Miller - the game's dominant player.

As the ball squirted around the ground, Newton was closest to the ball and it appeared as if he could've jumped on it and recovered the ball.

However, Newton - 6ft 6in and 17 stone - didn't dive on top of the ball and instead the ball was recovered by the Broncos inside five yards.

Five plays later CJ Anderson bundled the ball over the line for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 12-point lead with just over three minutes remaining.

The reaction to Newton was not pretty:

Peyton Manning converted a two-point play and the Broncos held on for a 24-10 win to take the Vince Lombardi trophy.

On a terrible day for the league MVP, Cam Newton was sacked six times, completed just 18 of 41 passes for 265 yards as well as throwing an interception.

He was hardly a factor running the ball either, rushing for just 45 yards and a long of only 14.