Javascript – nextjs, multiple await requests and handling responses w/ NextResponse

I have a login/signup app in NextJS. In the login page logic within my route.ts file I am submitting a few requests to a MongoDB database. I am checking to see if a doesnt exist then to send a NextReponse with a 400 error. Same thing if a PW is wrong then send a 400. However, whats happening is I am getting a 500 Internal Server Error each time I enter in a wrong user or wrong password. What am I doing wrong with my logic?

Here’s the code:

import { connect } from "@/dbConfig/dbConfig";
import User from "@/models/userModel";
import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
import bcryptjs from "bcryptjs";
import jwt from "jsonwebtoken";

connect();

export async function POST(request: NextRequest) {
  try {
    const reqBody = await request.json();
    const { password, email } = reqBody;

    console.log(reqBody);

    //check if user exist
    const user = await User.findOne({ email });
    console.log(user.password);
    if (!user) {
      NextResponse.json(
        { message: "User does not exist" },
        { status: 400, statusText: "User does not exist" }
      );
    }

    //check if password correct
    const validPassword = await bcryptjs.compare(password, user.password);
    if (!validPassword) {
      return NextResponse.json(
        {},
        { status: 400, statusText: "Invalid Password" }
      );
    }

    //create token data
    const tokenData = {
      id: user._id,
      username: user.username,
      email: user.email,
    };
    //create token

    const token = await jwt.sign(tokenData, process.env.TOKEN_SECRET!, {
      expiresIn: "1d",
    });

    const response = NextResponse.json({
      message: "Login sucessful",
      success: true,
    });

    response.cookies.set("token", token, { httpOnly: true });

    return response;
  } catch (error: any) {
    return NextResponse.json({ error: error.message }, { status: 500 });
  }
}