For years, Trevor Lawrence carried the weight of being the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, saddled with sky-high expectations and early struggles. But 2025 became the year everything changed. The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback didn’t just improve—he transformed into an MVP contender, achieving a historic double milestone by becoming the first Jaguar ever nominated as a finalist for both the NFL MVP Award and the Comeback Player of the Year Award. His MVP nomination represents unprecedented recognition in franchise history, particularly meaningful given that in Jacksonville’s 31-season existence (1995–2025), no player has ever won either award. Among five elite finalists competing for football’s most prestigious individual honor, Lawrence’s path stands apart. While Matthew Stafford leads the field as the favorite after amassing 4,707 passing yards and 46 touchdowns in his storied 17-year career, and Drake Maye makes waves in his first season as New England’s full-time starter with 35 touchdowns, Lawrence’s arrival in this company signals something profound. His resurgence wasn’t merely statistical—it reflected a fundamental shift in confidence and execution that permeated Jacksonville’s entire organization, fueled by his return after missing seven games due to injury in 2024.
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The Numbers Don’t Lie: Lawrence’s Dominant Second Half
Trevor Lawrence’s statistical output in 2025 tells a story of a quarterback in peak form. During the second half of the season, Lawrence and the Jaguars’ offense really began to take off. Surpassing 4,000 passing yards for the season, he completed 61% of his passes for 4,214 yards—ranking 7th in the league and closely trailing Stafford’s league-leading total. Remarkably, Lawrence contributed on both sides of the ball, finishing the regular season with 32 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns, demonstrating his dual-threat capability and ranking 4th in passing touchdowns across the league. Combined with his league-leading rushing touchdowns, Lawrence broke the Jaguars franchise record for total touchdowns in a single season with 38, surpassing Blake Bortles’ previous mark of 32. During an eight-game winning streak, the Jaguars’ offense averaged nearly 33 points per game—a pace that showcased Lawrence’s elite efficiency, where he ranked 3rd in passing touchdowns, 4th in total passing yards, 3rd in yards per attempt, and maintained the 5th-lowest turnover-worthy play rate in the league. This sustained excellence across multiple efficiency metrics distinguishes Lawrence’s candidacy from the field and showcases a quarterback who’s mastered both traditional and modern dimensions of the position.
Elite Company: Who Lawrence Is Up Against
Lawrence’s MVP nomination puts him alongside some of the league’s most accomplished quarterbacks: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye, Josh Allen, and Christian McCaffrey. Stafford’s 46 touchdowns represent elite production, while Maye’s remarkable first season has led the Patriots to a 14-3 record—exceptional rookie-year dominance. Yet beyond the statistical landscape, context amplifies Lawrence’s achievement: under first-year head coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars executed one of football’s most dramatic turnarounds, improving from 4-13 to 13-4 in 2025—the most impressive transformation for a rookie head coach in league history. Lawrence’s individual excellence complemented this team’s success perfectly, including a dominant 48-20 victory over the New York Jets where he accumulated 330 passing yards, five touchdowns, and an additional rushing touchdown, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Lawrence’s competitive resilience extends to the Comeback Player of the Year race, where he faces strong challengers in Dak Prescott, Christian McCaffrey, Stefon Diggs, and Aidan Hutchinson. The magnitude of Jacksonville’s organizational shift—from a franchise mired in losing to one of the league’s most improved teams—makes Lawrence’s dual nomination particularly meaningful.
Why This Moment Changes Everything for Jacksonville
Trevor Lawrence’s dual finalist status sends a powerful message: the Jaguars are no longer a franchise searching for answers. Leading the AFC South with a division title clinched in 2025—their first since 2022 and first under Coen’s leadership—Jacksonville finished as the 3rd seed in the playoffs with a 13-4 record that reflects a fundamental organizational shift. This historic double recognition underscores a franchise turning point: in its 31-year history, Jacksonville has never produced an MVP or Comeback Player of the Year winner, making Lawrence’s nominations a watershed moment. With Lawrence averaging 33 points per game during their winning streak, Jacksonville has become genuinely dangerous. The recognition validates the front office’s patience and the team’s investment in their quarterback, particularly after his triumphant return from injury. Beyond individual statistics, Lawrence has been instrumental in building a winning culture at home. The Jaguars maintain a 10-year road winning streak against AFC South rival Indianapolis dating back to 2014—a streak in which Lawrence’s been central, including a 37-34 shootout victory in 2024. It signals that a perennial rebuild is transforming into a championship contender with competitive resilience, and Lawrence is the symbol of that transformation.
A Vindication Long Overdue
Trevor Lawrence’s journey to MVP finalist status represents something deeper than statistics and accolades. It’s a vindication for a player who has carried unfair expectations and public skepticism throughout his career. For years, Lawrence bore the burden of being labeled a draft bust, weighed down by comparisons to other top-pick quarterbacks and the natural tendency to judge young players by immediate results rather than trajectory. The narrative around him had largely calcified into disappointment, even as glimpses of brilliance suggested the potential remained untapped.
The turning point came not from Lawrence himself, but from the arrival of Liam Coen as Jacksonville’s head coach. Coen’s impact on Lawrence cannot be overstated—he provided the framework, the system, and perhaps most importantly, the belief that Lawrence’s talent could flourish. The transformation has been so pronounced that it raises an uncomfortable question about what might have been under different coaching circumstances. When a quarterback suddenly becomes an MVP contender under new leadership while maintaining the same underlying abilities, it speaks volumes about the importance of environment, system fit, and coaching expertise. Coen didn’t just improve the Jaguars offense; he appeared to unlock a version of Trevor Lawrence that had always existed beneath the surface, waiting for the right conditions to emerge.
What’s particularly meaningful about Lawrence’s dual finalist status is that it validates not just the player, but everyone who believed in him when belief wasn’t fashionable. The Jacksonville franchise itself undergoes a cultural shift with this recognition. The Jaguars are no longer defined by losing—they’re defined by a quarterback and organization that refused to accept the narrative of permanent mediocrity. Lawrence’s emergence as an MVP candidate completes a redemption arc that extends beyond individual statistics. It’s about a franchise breaking free from historical patterns, a coach proving his genius, and a quarterback finally getting the opportunity to demonstrate what scouts saw in him at the draft. That alignment of circumstances, talent, and circumstance has created something genuinely special in Jacksonville—and Lawrence’s nominations are the proof that second acts are possible in professional football.