Cam Newton winning the 2015 NFL MVP is a mere formality at this point. He’d be a fully deserving winner, having led the Panthers to a 15-1 record in the regular season and the No. 1 scoring offense in the league while scoring 45 touchdowns.

It was undoubtedly a big year for the 26-year-old, who completely eviscerated the notion that he’d never develop into a consistent pocket passer. Newton made that evolutionary step while maintaining his importance in Carolina’s run game, which is built entirely around him. Newton produced the type of all-around season we have never seen from a quarterback, but how does it stack with the best quarterback seasons of all-time?

Newton’s 45 touchdowns (including both passing and running TDs) is the seventh highest total of all-time. Here’s the top 10, the group we’ll use when putting Newton’s 2015 season into historical context.



All of those guys are either Hall of Famers or players who will eventually make the Hall.

Making Newton’s season even more impressive is his aversion to turning over the football. Of the 10 passers we’re looking at, Newton turned the ball over at the third lowest rate.



Newton doesn’t get credit for his football IQ and his decision making, but the numbers show he has made great strides in both areas while not sacrificing his play-making ability.

Maybe the biggest factor working in Newton’s favor for the MVP race is the underwhelming supporting cast he’s working with. The narrative says Newton has put the Panthers on his back all season, and the numbers seem to back that up. Only Drew Brees, in 2012, accounted for a higher percentage of his team’s total yards than Newton:



So maybe Newton didn’t lead the league in passer rating this season or even finish in the top half in completion percentage, but those stats do not factor in having Ted Ginn Jr. as his No. 1 receiver or playing behind a line that requires extra blockers on a majority of passing downs to hold up against the rush — thus limiting Cam’s receiving options. And those numbers certainly do not account for how much he means to the league’s No. 2 rushing attack.

Newton can lock down one of the best two or three quarterback seasons by finishing it off with a Super Bowl win. Only one of the ten quarterbacks we’re looking at actually lifted a Lombardi Trophy that season. That’s Kurt Warner, whom Newton tops in all the statistical measures we’re looking at.

Only five of the quarterbacks in this group have even made the Super Bowl, including Newton. Considering both individual and team success, there’s a strong argument to be made that Newton is having a top-5 season in the history of the position.

So forget the stupid angry letters to newspaper editors and dance-based controversies and appreciate that Newton is putting together one of the best seasons a quarterback has ever produced.