Justin Jefferson Fires Back at Jets CB D.J. Reed on Twitter After Vikings' Victory
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Justin Jefferson had a quiet game by his lofty standards in the Vikings' win over the Jets on Sunday — but he's not going to let a defensive back take credit for that.
Jefferson, the NFL's second-leading receiver, was limited to seven catches for 45 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets against New York, adding a couple rushes for 11 yards. That's not a bad day by any means, but it's not the production the Vikings' superstar is used to. He entered Sunday's game having recorded at least 98 receiving yards in seven of the previous eight contests.
After the game, Jets cornerback D.J. Reed told reporters he was happy with the way he played against Jefferson, using some colorful language to convey his view.
"I was in his shit all game," Reed said. "He got the one route on me, so I'm frustrated, but I felt like I did a great job containing him. ... Other than that (touchdown), I held my own for sure against him."
The hyped-up matchup coming into this game was Jefferson against Jets CB Sauce Gardner, the star rookie who is one of the league's highest-graded players at his position. But the Jets don't move their cornerbacks around and the Vikings like to move Jefferson all over the place, meaning he went against Gardner, Reed, nickel corners, and all kinds of zone coverage looks with safeties over the top.
Jefferson's biggest moment — a ten-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter that made it a 27-15 ballgame — came with Reed in coverage. It's the second straight year he's caught a touchdown against Reed, after previously doing so when the fifth-year cornerback played for the Seahawks last season.
Outside of that moment, Reed was clearly happy with how he played.
A couple hours after the game, the quote made its way to Jefferson somehow. He wasn't shy about firing back.
"In what shit?" Jefferson tweeted, adding a couple laughing emojis. "You can’t talk having safety help…call me when yo coach trust you to go 1v1."
Reed then (mostly) took the high road with his reply.
"You are the best WR on your team," he responded to Jefferson. "Yes my safety was skating most of the day, you were held in check tho, but great win today."
A little back and forth never hurt anybody.
It's true that Reed, Gardner, and the rest of the Jets' defense limited Jefferson to his third-lowest receiving yardage total this season. They've been one of the best secondaries in the NFL in 2022.
It's also true that Jefferson still had a big impact in the Vikings' win. Four of his seven catches resulted in conversions on third down, including the touchdown reception. He made a few impressive catches on short routes and was able to hold onto the ball through some big hits. Jefferson also could've had a bigger day if he hadn't dropped a pass that was thrown slightly behind him in the third quarter. If completed, it would've gone for 20 yards or so.
"Tough, I hate it," Jefferson said of the drop. "It's going to haunt me tonight thinking about it, watching it. But I'm human. It happens sometimes. It's definitely something I wish I had back."
Reed and the Jets played well, but they rarely defended Jefferson with 1-on-1 man coverage — and who can blame them for that?
Reed is obviously allowed to say whatever he wants after a game. So is Jefferson, who took exception with Reed's depiction of events.
Most importantly, the Vikings won the game to move to 10-2.
Jefferson will look to get back to his usual dominant ways in Detroit next Sunday. After three consecutive 100-yard performances against the Lions, he was held to just three catches for a career-low 14 yards when the two teams met in Week 3 of this season.
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