As is the case with many franchises, the Minnesota Vikings have a lot of decisions to make this offseason following their exit from the postseason. And the most pressing on their list? Who’s playing quarterback.
A few weeks ago, a betting individual would have put their money on veteran Sam Darnold, who was putting up a career performance while rookie J.J. McCarthy recovered from injury. But the 27-year-old flubbed the final stretch of the season, including Monday night’s wild-card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where, among other issues, he was sacked a total of nine times. With that, it’s looking increasingly likely the team hands things over to McCarthy, and Darnold either heads to the bench or leaves for a new home in free agency; head coach Kevin O’Connell even seemed to signal as much in a post-game presser.
Whoever they choose, though, at least star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, a key piece of Minnesota’s offense, is unconcerned.
“I didn’t know who my quarterback was going to be [after last season], and I really didn’t care,” Jefferson said Monday night, per ESPN. “At the end of the day, I’ll always say that I’m confident in myself to perform the same way I’ve been performing. But it’s not my job to say who is going to be the quarterback or who do I want to be the quarterback. At the end of the day, they’re going to figure it out, and whoever they decide to go with, we can work with that.”
Jefferson was in a similar situation last year as quarterback Kirk Cousins headed into free agency, so he’s no stranger to the uncertainty here. At least he’s confident in his output no matter what, which is a bit of welcome confidence for the Vikings going forward.
Justin Jefferson can make more history in a building where he’s dominated
Justin Jefferson, who has spent the past five seasons smashing all kinds of records, has a chance to make more history this Sunday — and he’ll be doing it in a building where he’s been utterly unstoppable throughout his young career.
Heading into this weekend’s massive showdown with the Lions, Jefferson has 1,479 receiving yards. It’s already his fourth season with at least 1,400 yards, which is tied for third-most all-time. Only Jerry Rice (6) and Julio Jones (5) have more. He’s also basically a lock to secure his third 1,500-yard season, which would tie him for second all-time behind only Rice (4).
But the big number to watch is 1,600. If Jefferson gets 121 yards on Sunday night, he’d have the third 1,600-yard season of his career. That would make him the only player to ever do that. Right now, he’s tied with six other players for the record of two such seasons. For context, there have only been 29 seasons of 1,600 yards in NFL history, and Jefferson has a chance to do it three times in his first five years (though it obviously helps that an extra game was added to the schedule in 2021). He doesn’t even turn 26 years old until June.
121 yards is a mark Jefferson has reached in just four of 16 games, as he’s largely lived in the 81-99 range this season (seven times). He’s exceeded 130 in two of the last four games, though, and he’s now headed to the stadium where he’s played some of the best football of his career every single year.
In four games at Detroit’s Ford Field, Jefferson is averaging 182.5 receiving yards. Yes, that’s a real statistic. He had a paltry nine catches for 133 yards there as a rookie. Since then: 11 catches, 182 yards, and a TD in 2021; 11 catches, 223 yards, and a TD in 2022; and 12 catches, 192 yards, and a TD last season. That’s 43 receptions, 730 yards, and three touchdowns in FOUR games. Three of Jefferson’s five career performances with at least 180 yards have come in the same stadium.
But for Jefferson, who is eight receptions away from 500 for his career, winning is all that matters this week. The Vikings have lost four straight games against the Lions and five of their last six, including all three of Jefferson’s outings with over 180 yards (one of which was started by Nick Mullens). With everything that’s on the line this week, the only goal is going 1-0 for a tenth straight game.
Then again, a successful day for the Vikings’ offense typically involves plenty of production from the best receiver in the NFL. And the Lions’ defense, which is without top cornerback Carlton Davis III and numerous other starters, has been getting gashed through the air lately. The 49ers’ Ricky Pearsall had 141 yards against them last week. The Bears’ Keenan Allen had 141 the week prior. Unless the Lions really sell out to stop him with double teams, Jefferson should feast.
Oh, and not that he needed any bulletin board material, Lions rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold provided some this week.
“We’re a bad matchup for Minnesota,” Arnold said. “We got cover guys. They got good receivers, but we got cover guys.”
We’ll see how that quote ages on Sunday night.
“Oh, I’m excited,” Jefferson said this week. “I’m excited for sure. That’s without a doubt. I love these games, Sunday night games, for the division, No. 1 seed, in their stadium. I love that. I can’t wait. I’m definitely not gonna be able to sleep Saturday and just be waiting all day Sunday. To be in that moment, in that building, the whole world is watching, the whole world is excited, and the whole world is tuned in to what’s about to happen. I’m excited to be a part of it.”
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