CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Let’s get this out of the way first: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton shouldn’t be in the conversation for the NFL MVP award.

His total body of work doesn’t warrant it.

Carolina coach Ron Rivera offered a case on Tuesday as to why Newton should be considered for the award for the second time in three years based on the way he has played lately. He said Newton is playing at a very high level even though the stats don’t reflect it.

No argument here.

That Carolina (11-4) has lost only once over the past seven games and Newton has been a major part of that is fact. Statistically, during that stretch, one could argue Newton’s stats are better than those of New England quarterback Tom Brady, the runaway favorite to win the award, according to an ESPN poll.

Newton has thrown 11 touchdown passes to only two interceptions, and one of those was a pass Brenton Bersin should have caught in Sunday’s 22-19 win against Tampa Bay, a victory that clinched Carolina’s fourth playoff berth in the past five years.

Newton also has two rushing touchdowns during this run, including the winning score with 35 seconds left Sunday when he fumbled the snap and recovered the ball before stretching his 6-foot-5 frame into the end zone.

Brady has 14 touchdowns and six interceptions in his past seven games. He has rushed for none.

But you can’t erase the first eight games, when Newton had 10 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. Those who voted in the ESPN poll certainly haven’t. Fourteen players received at least one vote, and Newton isn’t among them.

The first pick of the 2011 draft has, however, played consistently at an MVP level in the last two minutes of each half. He won’t win any awards for that, but it’s a big reason the Panthers are winning the close games they couldn’t a year ago, when they lost six games decided by three or fewer points.

They are 4-0 in such games this year.

Newton, according to ESPN Stats & Information, has a total quarterback rating of 78 in the last two minutes of each half. That ranks seventh in the NFL, trailing Dallas’ Dak Prescott (94), Seattle’s Russell Wilson (92), Brady (92), Minnesota’s Case Keenum (92), Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz (90) and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (82).

Newton has thrown three touchdown passes and rushed for two more TDs in the final two minutes of a half. One of those was the game winner against Tampa Bay.

Even bigger, Newton has thrown 57 passes without an interception in the last two minutes of a half. According to ESPN Stats & Info, only Baltimore’s Joe Flacco (93), Wilson (66) and Buffalo’s Tyrod Taylor (58) have more attempts during that time period without a pick.

Newton had three interceptions in the final two minutes of a half last year, when Carolina went 6-10 after a 15-1 2015 season.

This year's 78 QBR in the final two minutes is the third-best of Newton's career, trailing his 92 in 2013 and 87 in ’15.

He’s never gone a season without an interception in the last two minutes, which he’ll attempt to change in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Atlanta.

It’s that poise in crucial situation that stands out. He didn’t always have that a year ago, when he lost some of his confidence under a barrage of sacks.

“When everything is going around very fast, very quickly, probably the biggest thing he’s done more than anything else is he maintains his composure," Rivera said. “And the players feed off of that calmness.

“Even when he dropped the ball [in the final minute against Tampa Bay], he went ahead and did what you’re supposed to. He started yelling, ‘Ball, ball,' and scooped it up and scored for us. I’m really impressed with the throws that he made. The timing on them was really good."

Newton also would be an MVP candidate if quarterbacks were graded specifically on rushing versus running and throwing. He needs only 47 yards rushing against Atlanta to top the career-best 741 from his 2012 sophomore season. He needs only five carries to top the career-best 132 he had in 2015.

Both career bests could be eclipsed Sunday. Newton has rushed for at least 51 yards in the past four games on an average of 11.25 attempts. He’s had at least 50 yards rushing in eight of his past 10 games.

His 14 carries in each of the past two games equal what he had in the first three games, when he was limited as the team brought him back slowly from offseason surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.

He’s doing things that not even Rivera probably envisioned during the offseason, when he proclaimed the Panthers needed to evolve the offense to depend less on Newton’s legs for his long-term health.

“It is difficult because he’s such an integral part of what we do," Rivera said. “And when we give the ROs -- run/pass options -- part of the option is him keeping the ball and running, as well. He’ll come up and look at the line of scrimmage, make his checks and calls and whatever, and now from there it’s all about his reads."

That ranges from keeping the ball to handing off to throwing, not all of them options most quarterbacks use on a consistent basis.

“There’s so many options we have with him, it helps us, it benefits us tremendously," said Rivera, still making his case for Newton to be the MVP. “Now we can make the calls and have him hand off no matter what or throw it no matter what. Now you’re limiting the options the defense has to be concerned with."

That there are no limits makes Newton the MVP of the Panthers.

Just not the NFL.