Justin Jefferson's Incredible Game vs. Bills Honored By NFL and Hall of Fame
In just 2.5 seasons, Justin Jefferson has had a ridiculous number of great games in a Minnesota Vikings uniform. The 23-year-old superstar has 20 100-yard performances in just 40 starts, the most such games in a player's first three seasons in NFL history. Nine of those outings saw him amass at least 140 yards, tied with Tyreek Hill for the league lead since 2020. Since entering the league, Jefferson's 4,076 yards are over 300 more than the next-closest player.
Even with the bar set absurdly high, Jefferson bested himself with the biggest game of his career in last Sunday's miraculous Vikings victory over the Bills. He caught ten passes for a career-high 193 yards, scoring one touchdown and coming yards shy of another multiple times.
Somehow, the numbers don't even tell the full story. Jefferson received a ton of defensive attention, making him unable to create much separation. Kirk Cousins trusted him anyways, giving him chance after chance to come down with contested catches. Jefferson delivered with spectacular grabs all game long, including one of the greatest catches of all time to keep the Vikings alive.
According to Pro Football Focus, seven of Jefferson's ten catches were contested. No player has ever had that many contested grabs in a game since PFF started tracking that statistic in 2016. Jefferson now leads the NFL with 14 contested catches, and only 24 players have seven of them this season. Per Next Gen Stats, nine of Jefferson's ten catches had a sub-50 percent completion probability, also a single-game record. He had receptions of 46, 22, 4, 14, 19, 32, 14, 6, 13, and 24 yards, also earning a 19-yard pass interference call. Six of his catches came on third or fourth down, and five of them came after the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
"Whenever Kirk throws the ball up, it's mine," Jefferson said after the game.
The Vikings needed every ounce of his masterful outing in order to come back and upset the Bills, on the road, in an overtime classic.
"He’s just a special, special player," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "Special individual, wants to be the best, believes he’s the best. It’s a small group in that conversation, whoever is the best. ... He works at it, is extremely competitive and he’s got a skill set. Sometimes it’s hard when you’re that talented to have that kind of drive, so that’s where I give him a lot of credit. He’s got a ton of confidence that he’s going to go out and make plays, whatever the situation is."
Jefferson's performance, which came in a thrilling game broadcast to nearly the entire country, elevated his national prominence even further. It was the strongest evidence yet to back his claim that he's the best wide receiver in football. The catch went viral, and everyone from Odell Beckham Jr. to Tom Brady took note of Jefferson's catch and all-around game.
For his efforts, Jefferson was named the NFC's offensive player of the week, the second time in his career that he's won the award. The gloves and arm sleeve he wore during the game were sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, where they'll be on display.
Next up for the Vikings is a tough home test against the Cowboys in another game that nearly the entire nation will see. Jefferson has just five catches for 107 yards and a touchdown in two career games against Dallas, including a 2 for 21 game last season, so he'll be motivated to shine once again and help the Vikings win their eighth straight game.
With 89 yards, Jefferson can pass Randy Moss for the most receiving yards ever in a player's first three seasons and take the lead over Hill on the 2022 leaderboard. Averaging over 135 yards per game over the past six, what does Jefferson have in store next?
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