Justin Jefferson Made Feelings Clear on Vikings' Road Playoff Game After 14-Win Year

The Vikings lost to the Rams in Los Angeles after they finished the regular season 14-3.

The Vikings lost to the Los Angeles Rams on the road in a wild-card game to end their season | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings had an incredible 14-3 regular season last year, which came down to a Week 18 clash with the Detroit Lions for the NFC North crown, the conference's top seed and a first-round bye.

Detroit took down the Vikings 31-9 and claimed the NFC's bye, which sent Minnesota (as a 14-win team) to Los Angeles for a wild-card game against the Rams that they lost 27-9. That winner-take-all game between the Vikings and Lions sparked plenty of debate on whether wild-card teams with better records should have to play on the road in their first playoff game. Minnesota's superstar receiver Justin Jefferson was recently asked whether wild-card teams with a better record should be given home field advantage in the future.

“Yes, especially with the season that we had last year, to go and play away, it definitely was a little different,” Jefferson said in an interview with Yahoo Sports via ProFootballTalk. “It definitely needs to go into consideration and something that we need to figure out because having 14 wins ... normally doesn’t go to play away in the playoffs.”

He acknowledged that his squad had the opportunity to play for home field and playing on the road wasn't an excuse for their early playoff exit at the hands of the Rams. But, with the Lions and Vikings both reaching 14 wins by Week 18 in the same division, debate sparked on whether playoff seeding rules should change so wild-card teams aren't automatically sent on the road. Detroit even submitted a proposal to reseed teams after the regular season based on record alone, which they eventually withdrew since it lacked support.

Jefferson was second in the NFL with 1,533 receiving yards last season, trailing only Ja'Marr Chase. He had 103 receptions and 10 touchdown catches as well, as the Vikings cruised through the regular season. Playoff seeding rules will remain the same next season, but should a similar proposal come up moving forward, Jefferson would be in favor at the very least.

You can watch his full comments in the interview with Jason Fitz of Yahoo Sports below:

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