CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cam Newton has never liked being referred to as a running quarterback.

"I have labeled myself as a pocket passer with the ability to run," Newton said.

Newton proved again he can beat teams with his arm, throwing a career-high five touchdown passes on Sunday, when the Carolina Panthers improved to 10-0 with a dominating 44-16 victory over the Washington Redskins (4-6).

Newton completed 21 of 34 passes for 246 yards and threw TD passes to five different receivers as Carolina stretched its regular-season winning streak to 14 games, including eight in a row at home.

The Panthers opened a four-game lead in the NFC South over Atlanta and became the 16th team in the Super Bowl era to start 10-0.

Of the previous 15, all made the playoffs and nine advanced to the Super Bowl, with six winning it all.

All of that matters little to tight end Greg Olsen.

"They don't give out trophies for the regular season," Olsen said.

Carolina's defense was dominant. They forced five turnovers leading to 27 points, had five sacks of Kirk Cousins and established a franchise record by holding the Redskins to 14 yards rushing on 12 carries.

"Between the fumbles and the picks, we had a couple short fields," Olsen said. "You've got to take advantage of them. We didn't sit on them. I know we scored a lot of touchdowns, and that's obviously what you're looking for."

Jonathan Stewart ran for 102 yards on 21 carries and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass. Olsen, Mike Tolbert, Ted Ginn Jr. and Devin Funchess also caught TD passes.

"He has a good command of what we're doing out there," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of Newton, who has 20 TD passes this season — four shy of his career high with six games left to play.