Vintage Jefferson among 5 top takeaways from Vikings' win over Giants

Justin Jefferson was great, but it wasn't all good for the Vikings on Sunday.

Dec 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) makes a catch against the New York Giants during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

J.J. McCarthy's hand injury will consume most of the attention following the Vikings' 16-13 win over the Giants, but there were plenty of other talking points that deserve attention. Here are some of them...

1. Wide receiver drops continue to haunt Vikings

Before McCarthy was knocked out by injury, his day was marred by a pair of costly drops. The first one was a ball that Jordan Addison couldn't hang onto as he tumbled into the end zone, and the second bounced off Jalen Nailor's hands and was intercepted by the Giants.

Here's the Jordan Addison end zone drop from the Vikings' first possession.pic.twitter.com/zNw8pGzLYU

— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) December 21, 2025

Paulson Adebo picks off JJ McCarthy, whose pass went in and out of the hands of Jalen Nailor and into the hands of Adebo.

The Giants have the ball back from the turnover. pic.twitter.com/VP3i84tVuh

— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) December 21, 2025

According to Pro Football Focus, Addison entered the game with eight drops this season. Only CeeDee Lamb and Jerry Jeudy, each with nine, had more drops. Justin Jefferson entered the game with six drops.

2. Jefferson coming up big

Outside of a borderline drop early on, Jefferson was awesome. Not only did he make two incredible sideline catches, but he also keyed a trio of first downs in the first half with tremendous run-after-catch skills when the Vikings were facing third-and-long situations.

On Minnesota's first possession of the game, Jefferson turned a pass short of the sticks on third-and-11 into a 13-yard gain. On the next possession, he did the same with a 14-yard catch-and-run to move the sticks on third-and-12. During the next Vikings possession, he caught a short throw and turned upfield for 14 yards on third-and-15. Minnesota picked up the first down on the next play.

This Justin Jefferson guy is pretty good...

5 catches for 57 yards thus far for the #Vikings WR, including this incredible snag near the sideline: pic.twitter.com/DZyjtAqOxj

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 21, 2025

Jefferson is up to 917 receiving yards, so with two games to go he has a great chance to reach 1,000 yards for a sixth consecutive season since being drafted by the Vikings in 2020.

3. Ryan Kelly suffers another concussion

Kelly, who has battled injuries all season, was knocked out of this game midway through the second quarter when he suffered another possible concussion during a 4th-and-1 run for a Minnesota first down.

Kelly signed a two-year deal with Minnesota after neck, knee, and calf injuries limited him to 10 games with the Colts last season. This season has been worse. He suffered concussions in Weeks 2 and 4 and wound up playing in only three of Minnesota's first 10 games. He's played in every game since Week 12, but a hip flexor injury knocked him out early against Seattle, and this would be his third concussion of the season.

Kelly admitted in November that he mulled retirement because of concussions.

“You have a conversation where you’re emotional, a little bit erratic, kind of spiraling mentally in a big situation and big moment in your career,” Kelly told the Minnesota Star Tribune. He ultimately got medical clearance and realized that his love for football was still strong enough to keep playing.

With a $12.1 million cap hit next season, Kelly is an obvious cut candidate. The Vikings will eat roughly $3.3 million in dead money if they cut him, but it will free up $8.75 million in cap space. The conversation changes if the 32-year-old decides to retire because of traumatic brain injuries.

4. McCarthy pick-six bailed out by offsides penalty

On second-and-goal from inside the 10-yard line, McCarthy's pass sailed high and deflected off Nailor's fingertips and was intercepted for a would-be 96-yard touchdown return by Jevon Holland. But it was wiped out because Giants rookie Abdul Carter was lined up in the neutral zone.

Jevon Holland pick 6 gets taken off the board due to an Abdul Carter offsides pic.twitter.com/bpHr8V4O8G

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) December 21, 2025

5. Way too many penalties

The Vikings entered the day with 95 penalties accepted against them this season. That ranked 14th most in the NFL, but they're now at 106 after 11 penalties were enforced in this game. What's worse is that the Giants, who had 102 enforced penalties this season prior to Sunday's game, also had 11 penalties accepted against them.

Twenty-two penalties are a lot, which was to be expected with the officiating crew, led by Alex Moore, calling the game. They entered the game calling an NFL-high 16 penalties per game.