The Dallas Cowboys are at the bottom of the NFC East, but have renewed postseason hopes with their quarterback and leader Tony Romo back under centre.

In his first game back since suffering a broken collarbone, Romo spurred Dallas to a 24-14 win over Miami last week.

The Cowboys have yet to lose a game this season with Romo on the field and are only two losses away from jumping from fourth to the top of the division.

“I just feel like we had one of our best players back in Romo,” Dallas safety Barry Church said. “That had a heck of a lot of difference.”

While Romo has had an impact in his limited time, Cam Newton has had an MVP-type of campaign in pushing the Carolina Panthers to a flawless 10-0 record.

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The fifth-year quarterback has thrown 20 touchdowns – five of which came in the 44-16 victory against Washington last week – and six scores on the ground, putting together a career-best 90.1 passer rating.

“What more can you say – the guy’s been playing at a very elite level right now,” said Panthers tight end Greg Olsen.

“Playing the quarterback position, there’s no other quarterback that’s asked to do what he has to do, both run and pass. He’s playing as good a ball as there is in the league right now.”

Newton will face a Cowboys pass rush tonight (UAE: 01:30 +1) headed by defensive end Greg Hardy, who spent the first five seasons of his career with Carolina before team franchise chose not to re-sign him.

With Dallas, Hardy has a teamleading 4.5 sacks after a four-game suspension for his domestic violence incident to start the season.

“It’s just a nameless, faceless opponent,” Hardy said. “On to the next game. “I just keep it that way.”