Inside The Vikings

Justin Jefferson Records Breakout Game Against the Titans

The Vikings rookie is having a breakout day against the Titans at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Will Ragatz|
Justin Jefferson Records Breakout Game Against the Titans
Justin Jefferson Records Breakout Game Against the Titans

The Justin Jefferson breakout game is happening right in front of our eyes. The Vikings rookie receiver has exploded onto the scene in Week 3, catching seven passes for 175 yards and counting against the Titans. He's showing why Minnesota made him a first-round pick back in April.

Heading into this game, Jefferson had just five catches for 70 yards through two weeks. It was a small sample size, but Kirk Cousins had a higher passer rating when targeting the LSU product than any other receiver. The Vikings talked during the week about getting Jefferson more involved in the offense.

Early on, it became clear that they were serious. Jefferson caught each of Cousins' first four passes for 40 yards, including three first downs.

Then came the first of several big moments. Jefferson, playing on the outside against former Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Butler, had a great release off of the line of scrimmage and went up for a highlight-reel contested catch. It was a 31-yard gain that set up a touchdown pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen.

Jefferson later added a 33-yard catch and run to get up to 104 yards in the first half. In doing so, he became the first Vikings rookie with over 100 receiving yards in a half since Randy Moss in 1998.

He wasn't done. Early in the third quarter, Cousins launched one deep to Jefferson off of play-action and he eluded multiple tackles for a 71-yard touchdown, the first of his career.

Jefferson's 175 yards are just 35 shy of the Vikings rookie record for receiving yards (Sammy White with 210 in 1976) and there's an entire quarter remaining.

Update: Jefferson finished with 175 yards as the Vikings fell 31-30 to the Titans to remain winless. Read my three takeaways from the loss.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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