Ron Rivera's expectations for Cam Newton are astronomical

How do you top an MVP season that included 15 regular-season wins and a trip to the Super Bowl? Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera believes Cam Newton will find a way.

After all, it's possible that Newton, who turned 27 last week, is just entering his prime.

"He's got an awful lot of room to grow,'' Rivera told ESPN Radio in Charlotte. "He can really transcend this game in many different ways because of the way the game is played today.

"The game is played at an up tempo, it's played from a spread offense, it's played from the shotgun ... the quarterbacks makes the opportunity to whether run, throw or pass. I mean, he truly is a triple threat now.''

This past season, Newton had 3,837 passing yards, a career-high 35 TD passes and a career-low 10 interceptions -- despite losing No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury in training camp. Plus, he rushed for 636 yards and 10 more scores --€“ becoming the first NFL player to ever pass for 30 TDs and run for 10 TDs.

Added Rivera: "As he continues to learn and understand more and more about offensive and defensive plays, his decision-making is going to be even better. As long as he continues to stay healthy and keep getting better physically and work on his base fundamentals, I think the young man is going to get better.''