Trevor Lawrence Emerges as MVP Contender as Jaguars Rise — SkimNews
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- Trevor Lawrence has vaulted into NFL MVP contention under new head coach Liam Coen (poached from Tampa Bay in January 2025), with the Jaguars going 17-5 in regular-season games since the start of last season — tied for the best record in the league.
- Lawrence's 2026 efficiency numbers have leapt from last season: he ranks fourth in quarterback rating (106.3), eighth in completion percentage (67.1) and fifth in yards per attempt (8.2), with 1,174 passing yards and 10 touchdowns through five games.
- Parker Washington, a sixth-round pick who was supposed to be a depth receiver, has become Lawrence's clear top target with 22 catches for 352 yards and four touchdowns this season after leading the team in all receiving categories in 2025.
- Jacksonville's defense, coordinated by Anthony Campanile, has tightened to 14.0 points allowed per game in 2026 — second only to Minnesota (12.8) — after yielding just 18.5 per game across Coen's first season.
- The Jaguars (4-1) face the 0-4-turned-1-4 Houston Texans at Wembley on Sunday, the first of four divisional games in their next six that will test whether Lawrence and the Jags belong in the Super Bowl favourite conversation alongside Buffalo, San Francisco, Kansas City and Seattle.
- Lawrence threw for 331 yards and connected with Washington on a pinpoint fourth-down touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, the kind of poised, in-rhythm play Coen's scheme has unlocked after years of Lawrence playing 'hero ball' under pressure.
Why it matters: Lawrence's late-bloomer arc mirrors other former top picks like Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield who needed the right coaching situation to click — and with Jacksonville now top-2 in scoring defense and Lawrence leading a balanced attack, the Jags are no longer a cute story but a legitimate threat to the Bills, 49ers, Chiefs and Seahawks favoured for Super Bowl LXI. Their upcoming divisional gauntlet (four of the next six) is the first real test of whether that contender status holds.
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