Justin Jefferson's game in Buffalo is one of the best ever

All nine of his catches would've been incomplete more often than not.

Author:
Joe Nelson
Publish date:
Nov 14, 2022 2:59 PM EST

Justin Jefferson's nine catches for 193 yards and a touchdown was as good as they get, but his acrobatic, one-handed catch to secure a first down on 4th-and-18 in the fourth quarter has garnered most of the attention. But that was just the best of his many insane receptions.

According to NextGen Stats, all nine of Jefferson's catches had a sub-50% probability of being completed. That's the most in the NextGen Stats era (2014). And by a wide margin, as no other play has had more than six such catches in a game.

The timing, difficulty and importance of Jefferson's unbelievable catch on 4th-and-18 easily puts it among the best in NFL history, but his overall game may be among the best single-game efforts by a wide receiver of all time. That's a massive statement considering there have been games like...

Jerry Rice 13 catches for 225 yards and 5 touchdowns in 1990
Jimmy Smith 15 catches for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2000
Jerry Rice 14 catches for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Vikings in 1995
Terrell Owens 20 catches for 283 and 1 touchdown in 2000
Flipper Anderson 15 catches for 336 yards and 1 touchdown in 1989
Calvin Johnson 14 catches for 329 yards and 1 touchdown in 2013
Brandon Marshall 21 catches for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2009
Julio Jones 12 catches for 300 yards and 1 touchdown in 2016

Jefferson's catch total, yards and one touchdown pale in comparison to those monster statistical performances above, but Jefferson wasn't simply playing pitch and catch with Kirk Cousins. He was battling tight covered and extreme pressure as he did most of his damage after the Vikings fell behind 27-10.

Brian Baldinger broke down five of Jefferson's catches. He had the 46-yard catch and run on the open series of the game followed by his tough touchdown catch for 22 yards to cap that drive.

Then there's the 4th-and-18 catch, which Baldinger called "maybe the greatest catch in Vikings history." After that, it was Jefferson over the middle on third-and-goal where Jefferson pulled in another very difficult catch around his ankles to set up a fourth-and-goal inside the one. And lastly, Jefferson's tip-toe catch at the 2-yard line on a dime from Kirk Cousins in overtime to set up the game-winning field goal.

On Minnesota's overtime drive to take a 33-30 lead, Jefferson accounted for 56 of the 60 yards the Vikings gained. He had catches for 13 and 24 yards and drew a 19-yard pass interference penalty on 2nd-and-22.

More fuel for the argument that it's one of the best games ever: Jefferson had seven contested catches in the game, according to Pro Football Focus. That's just a number until you realize that only 17 receivers have at least seven contested catches this entire season. Seven in one game is a record since PFF started keeping that stat in 2016.

Based on difficulty, there perhaps has never been a game as impressive as Jefferson's in Buffalo.