Trevor Lawrence’s 2025 season put him back in the national spotlight, even if it didn’t end with hardware.

The Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback and former Clemson star earned finalist nods for both Associated Press Most Valuable Player and AP Comeback Player of the Year after guiding Jacksonville to a 13-4 regular-season record, an AFC South championship, and a return to the playoffs. Lawrence ultimately finished fifth in MVP voting and fourth in Comeback Player of the Year balloting, with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford taking home MVP honors and San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey winning Comeback Player of the Year.

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While the awards went elsewhere, Lawrence’s production told the story of a quarterback playing some of the best football of his career. He completed 60.9 percent of his passes for 4,007 yards with a career-high 29 touchdown throws and 12 interceptions. He also added a new dimension as a runner, setting personal bests in carries (82), rushing yards (359), and rushing touchdowns (nine). His 38 total touchdowns ranked third in the NFL, trailing only Stafford (46) and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (39).

Speaking with NBC’s Pro Football Talk at Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LX, Lawrence said his 2025 campaign stands out among his five NFL seasons so far.

“I would say so, especially the finish to this season,” Lawrence said. “Obviously, how I was playing and the confidence I was playing with, but our team, our offense — it’s all of that. Just a lot of fun, the run we went on. And obviously, didn’t go as far as we wanted to. But as far as just the way the team came together, it was really cool.”

The strong finish was a sharp contrast from 2024, when injuries limited Lawrence to 10 games. That season, he threw for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions before landing on injured reserve in early December due to a shoulder injury and concussion. Entering 2025, Lawrence was focused on proving he was still the franchise quarterback Jacksonville committed to with a five-year, $275 million extension.

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He delivered, particularly over the second half of the year. The Jaguars won each of their final eight regular-season games, and during that stretch Lawrence accounted for 24 total touchdowns (19 passing, five rushing) against just five interceptions. His play in December earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors, capped by a dominant closing stretch in which he threw for 1,371 yards, 13 touchdowns, and one interception over his final five games.

Despite the personal accolades, Lawrence has remained focused on team success. In an interview with CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco, he explained that outside criticism no longer carries much weight.

“I kind of stopped really caring about [that],” Lawrence said. “I think, if anything, I used all that stuff as more of like a chip on my shoulder than anything. People have said a lot about me my whole career, and I’ve always had the belief in myself, that I know I’m a great player and I know what I’m capable of. And it hasn’t always shown. I haven’t always played my best, and that’s part of growth and getting better. Every year’s different, so I gotta go prove it again. I gotta go play well, and I gotta play well at the end of the season in these playoff games so we can go win these games at the end of the year.

“So, for me, it’s all about the team, and I want to win games with our team. I don’t want to win games just so people think I’m a good quarterback. That naturally happens when you win and you play well. But it’s more about you play this game for your teammates and for the guys around you, because there’s nothing like doing it together. And when you have that success as a team, it’s so much fun. The feeling that we had in the back half of the season, that’s what you’re chasing, because it’s so much fun accomplishing a goal that you set out to do together.”

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Now five seasons into his NFL career, Lawrence has thrown for 17,822 yards and 98 touchdowns while adding 23 rushing scores since entering the league in 2021. After a season like 2025, he appears firmly back on track as the face of the Jaguars’ franchise and one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.

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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Former Clemson star Trevor Lawrence on his breakout NFL season