Carolina Coach Rivera (and others) are right...
Sure, Denver's D was exceptional, but so was Carolina's, but for one crucial difference: Denver made Newton turn the ball over, and Carolina didn't have the same success against Manning.
Cam Newton lost this game. Rivera uses the "we" vocabulary in talking about it, but no one is fooled... more accurately, it was one player.
I have no problems with beating him up about it, either b/c we all know that beyond the routine "we win as a team" rhetoric he would cackle, he's been all too eager this season to make sure everyone's attention was focused on him by his actions.
And on second thought, I'm sad that he's not a better man than that... a lot of people--and of course, kids in particular--began looking up to him.
Arguably his WORST fumble was this THIRD one after the game was over, ie, the lost respect he's earned as a result of his post-game behavior. I can think of few NFL QBs who would have handled that moment as pathetically... Manziel, probably, but that might be the only one.