CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton for all practical purposes is out of the NFL MVP conversation for this season.

The question is whether the Carolina Panthers quarterback can repeat the MVP-like performance he had in his last outing before the bye, a 45-21 Monday night victory over the Miami Dolphins.

History says he can.

It wasn't until Game 10 in 2015 that Newton began his push for the MVP award he won over the New England Patriots' Tom Brady and the Arizona Cardinals' Carson Palmer. He threw five touchdowns with no interceptions in a 44-16 victory over the Washington Redskins.

That started a run of 20 touchdown passes with one interception over the final seven games. He also rushed for four touchdowns during that span.

Newton's numbers in the recent win over Miami are eerily similar to what he did at this point two years ago. He completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for 254 yards and four touchdowns, compared to 21-of-34 for 246 yards and five touchdowns against Washington.

He also did it without Kelvin Benjamin -- injured in 2015, traded to Buffalo in 2017 -- in both games. He did it with Devin Funchess catching at least one touchdown in both.

He also had help from running back Jonathan Stewart in both. Stewart had 102 yards rushing on 21 carries against Washington. The 30-year-old back had 110 yards on 17 carries against Miami.

As Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young said last week, when Newton has a great running game, offensive line and defense around him he can put up MVP numbers filling in the pieces. Young said that was the key for the Panthers in 2015, and that will be the key again if they make a run this season.

A week ago, Newton had all the pieces around him and did a superb job of filling in the rest. That he didn't have to carry the running game for a fifth straight week was critical to the formula Young laid out.

Carolina tight end Ed Dickson believes that is sustainable, as well.

"You don't want to be playing your best football in freaking October," Dickson said. "You want to be playing your best football in December and January, when your best football is needed.

"That's the kind of player Cam was [in 2015]. He felt out how the season was going and knew he needed to up his level of play, and that's what he did. Now, he's doing the same thing."

Brady, the Philadelphia Eagles' Carson Wentz and the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees appear to be the front-runners for this year's MVP award, with the Kansas City Chiefs' Alex Smith fading.

Brady has 22 touchdown passes to two interceptions and has New England (8-2) looking like a contender for a second straight Super Bowl. Wentz has thrown 25 touchdown passes to five interceptions after Sunday night's win over the Dallas Cowboys and has the Eagles (9-1) atop the NFL.

Brees has the Saints (8-2) on an eight-game winning streak and atop the NFC South with 15 touchdown passes to five interceptions. But he's still a long shot behind Brady and Wentz.

So is Smith. He has thrown 18 touchdowns to three interceptions -- two coming in a 12-9 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday -- and has the Chiefs atop the AFC West at 6-4, but they have lost four of their past five games.

Newton's overall résumé isn't nearly as impressive as any of those, even though Carolina (7-3) has won three straight and is only a game behind New Orleans in the division. He had 10 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions through the first nine games.

But now with 14 touchdown passes to 11 interceptions, he's not far off the pace he was in 2015 after 10 games. He had 15 touchdown passes to nine interceptions at this point then.

So if he were to go on another streak like he had in 2015, he could creep back into the MVP conversation -- but he would need Brady and Wentz to cool off to have a legitimate shot. In all likelihood, he also would need to be instrumental in the Panthers' winning out.

But remember, in 2015, Newton didn't have a touchdown pass or an interception in Game 11, a 33-14 victory at Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. So with another Miami-like performance against the New York Jets on Sunday, the first pick of the 2011 draft actually could be ahead of his MVP pace.

That Newton is expected to get back his favorite target, Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen, for the Jets, which gives him a better chance of sustaining the momentum he created a week ago.

He also could have Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil back.

Olsen can't point to one reason Newton upped his game to an MVP level in 2015 any more than he can predict the same will happen this year.

"I just think he's pretty good," he deadpanned.

Dickson can't point to one reason, either. But he does believe what Newton did against Miami can continue.

"I just saw him be everything we needed at the beginning [in 2015] and even more at the end of the season to help us propel to make it to the Super Bowl," Dickson said.

"If you're undefeated or oh-and-whatever, you still have to raise your level of play. He's a player that can do that."