Can Justin Fields become the Jets' first Super Bowl-era MVP?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the New York Jets are one of just a handful of NFL franchises to have never had an MVP in the Super Bowl era. In fact, the Jets are one of just seven teams with this dubious distinction. Even teams known more for losing than they are for winning such as the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears have had an NFL MVP at some point in the last 59 years.

This is no surprise to football fans given the organization’s long history of general incompetence. It’s one of a few streaks that Jets fans would enjoy seeing come to an end as soon as possible. Could it happen in 2025? And if it did, who would be the most likely candidate?

For Grant Gordon, a writer and content creator for NFL Media, that would be none other than Justin Fields. Yes, the same Justin Fields who is on his third team in as many seasons. But hear him out because Gordon actually makes a somewhat compelling case.

“Fields is set to start for his third NFL club since the Bears took him at 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. In Chicago, he showcased rushing ability from the QB spot more dynamic than any signal-caller in the league not named Lamar Jackson. If Fields can rediscover that rushing vigor, find peak passing bliss in Tanner Engstrand’s offense and most imperatively guide New York to a playoff berth after 14 long years without one, well, maybe an MVP isn’t out of the question.”

Crazier things have happened than the scenario thus laid out. In fact, some Bears fans may recall that Justin Fields actually received a vote for the 2022 NFL MVP award, placing him right behind 4-time Pro Bowler Micah Parsons and Trevor Lawrence in the final tally.

Keep in mind that this is not a prediction, nor is Gordon saying that this is even likely to happen. Fields, at this point in his career, probably is who he is: a below-average quarterback who happens to be an electric runner and tremendous athlete. But if Fields can finally become a franchise quarterback in an aggressive, new offense alongside his college buddy Garrett Wilson, and if he can lead the Jets back to the playoffs, that’s a story that can tug at the heartstrings of NFL awards voters.