The Jacksonville Jaguars saw quarterback Trevor Lawrence turn in an elite performance to start off the 2026 NFL season, building on his MVP-caliber play last year.
Lawrence was hyped as a generational talent coming out of college, but his career in the NFL has been more of a roller coaster, marred by inconsistency and instability, in no small part due to constant turnover with the Jacksonville coaching staff.
But under Liam Coen, Lawrence has seemingly found a way to thrive, and any questions about whether he will continue to play well this year after a career 2025 season have certainly been quieted, if not yet silenced, after an excellent game against the Cleveland Browns.
He played so well, in fact, thatESPN's Ben Solak is already wondering if
Lawrence could make an MVP push this season.
"Do I really have an opinion about the league MVP through one week of the season? Absolutely not," Solak wrote. "But the mind wanders into such fantasies when the Jaguars' offense cruise controls its way to a 34-point outing against a not-insignificant Browns defense in Week 1."
Solak then continued:
"With a great schemer in Coen and a talented pass catching group, he's a total flamethrower," Solak added. "And as Lawrence plays with more confidence in structure, he makes better plays outside of structure, where his escapability and throw-on-the-move talent has always been underappreciated and underused."
Watch the Browns defenders (namely 98) react to this Trevor Lawrence touchdown throw pic.twitter.com/tKNbiqMIMk
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) September 14, 2026
Solak also pointed out that, while the Browns are not a difficult opponent, the same cannot be said about the Cleveland defense, which is better than it gets credit for — making Lawrence's performance all the more impressive.
He's also not the only analyst to have been impressed, with Pro Football Focus (PFF) naming Lawrence quarterback on its Team of the Week, as well as naming him quarterback of the week:
Lawrence was phenomenal in the Jaguars' season-opening win over the Cleveland Browns. His +22.0% Completion Percentage Over Expectation led the NFL this week, while his +3.0% Accuracy Over Expectation ranked 10th.
Of course, the biggest test of Lawrence's abilities will come in the next spate of games, which will see Jacksonville take on multiple Super Bowl contending teams. If he continues to play at this elite level, the MVP award all but belongs to him already.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: ESPN analyst envisions big season ahead for Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence
