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Check out some of Justin Jefferson’s best performances so far this season for the Minnesota Vikings as he played his part in an 8-1 start.
Check out some of Justin Jefferson’s best performances so far this season for the Minnesota Vikings as he played his part in an 8-1 start.
When the Philadelphia Eagles’ undefeated streak ended last Monday night, one team stood out as the hottest team in football.
The Minnesota Vikings, whose only loss of the year came to the Eagles in Week Two, now boast the longest winning streak in the NFL (seven straight) and last week, they pulled off a true ‘knowledge’ win by going to Buffalo and beating the team. Bills in the game of the season so far.
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Highlights of the epic game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills
The overtime win showed both what the Vikes have and where they are going to win. Dalvin Cook scored on an 81-yard run. The defense stepped up when it needed to and made big plays in big minutes. The best receiver in the NFL right now – Justin Jefferson – had a performance that will go down in history.
Minnesota’s credentials were questioned every week as they beat “low” teams but their big win in Buffalo showed that they deserve to be taken seriously as a Super Bowl contender.
At 8-1 and with all the confidence in the world, is Minnesota an NFL team to beat?
Justin Jefferson is unstoppable
We have to start here… We’re looking for greatness in the form of the 23-year-old, three-year-old from Minnesota. It’s amazing, and every week they do something that makes you happy.
Against Buffalo, his fourth-and-18, one-handed catch matched Odell Beckham’s all-time high and will go down as one of the greatest feats of recent memory.
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Following Jefferson’s excellent catch against the Buffalo Bills last week, how does OBJ’s worst catch against the Dallas Cowboys in 2014 compare?
What would have gotten lost in Buffalo’s crazy passing streak is that Jefferson managed 193 yards on 10 catches. And according to Next Gen Stats, nine of those 10 were 50 percent completion percentages — the most in any game since those stats were recorded.
When you look at them all individually, you can see how complicated it is:
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Watch Jefferson every play for his game-high 193 yards
For two years, Jefferson has been a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro, but even then he felt neglected and underappreciated as the Vikings slipped to 7-9 and 8-9 records and missed the playoffs.
This season, he leads the league in yards per game (117.8), is fourth in the league in rushing, and is playing well after a win. Every defensive coordinator in Minnesota’s upcoming meetings will be sweating how to stop him.
‘Good vibes’ in Minnesota
During the week, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said: “Justin Jefferson is amazing [the buzz] He has been quiet because the Vikings were not winning. There was a problem with not working properly, so you didn’t start praising Jefferson.
“I remember there was a moment at the end of last year when I thought, ‘If this continues, he’s going to do the Stefon Diggs-style tweet-my-way-out-town thing’. And I wouldn’t have been there. I blamed him.
“But all that changed with Kevin O’Connell’s administration and what he’s done this year. It’s been magic; it’s the Minneapolis Miracle that’s continued for weeks, until the end of what we saw in Buffalo.”
The Vikings are enjoying themselves under head coach Kevin O’Connell
After a very successful run with the Vikings over eight seasons, head coach Mike Zimmer’s time with the organization came to an end last summer. Two consecutive losing seasons and the rumblings of players who were unhappy with his strict coaching style meant that his tenure was coming to an end.
But as often happens in this league, the team went against him. Instead of a tough, old-school, defensive tackle, the Vikings selected O’Connell — young (37), well-rounded, and one of the most offensive minds in the NFL.
So far, so good.
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Quarterback Kirk Cousins went shirtless as he and his teammates enjoyed the festivities on their plane home from beating the Commanders.
The offense isn’t setting any records, but they’re getting the ball to Jefferson — often. Running back Dalvin Cook averaged five yards per carry on the ground. It’s almost the end of new tight end TJ Hockenson (who was acquired at the trade deadline), but he still has 19 goals and 16 catches in two weeks with the team.
The Vikings can attack you in a number of ways, and they didn’t lose their defensive ability when they lost Zimmer. O’Connell appointed 65-year-old manager Ed Donatell to lead his team, who has been coaching since before his head coach was born. Donatell brought 31 years of NFL experience to Minnesota (another 11 in college).
Although leaving more yards per game than the other three teams, the Vikings take risks and force turnovers – they are second to the Eagles in takeaways with 18. If you can’t stop the other team, just get the ball back instead.
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The Vikes celebrated in style after a late game by safety Harrison Smith
How far will they go?
So, they won seven straight. They just beat the Super Bowl favorites. Will he go all the way?
The elephant in the room is, of course, quarterback Kirk Cousins. One of the most impressive QBs in the game, he entered the season with a 59-59-2 record as a starter.
You could say that a quarterback’s success is not a statistic. That may be true, and despite his team records, he has put up a lot of numbers, especially as a Viking. He has averaged 4,000 yards, 31 touchdowns, nine touchdown passes and a 68.3% completion rate over the last four seasons, with a 103.5 quarterback rating.
Kirk Cousins’ numbers may not show, but he’s winning and having fun
However, through nine games this year, he is looking at his best completion percentage (64.1), touchdown percentage (4.0 – 14 TDs) and quarterback percentage (87.0) since his first full-time start in 2015.
Is it anxiety? Or is 8-1 text all that matters?
Ultimately, when we get to the end of the season, the Vikings will need to ‘win’ Kirk Cousins, whatever the numbers say.
After the Buffalo win, Jefferson said, “I told everybody, this means this is our season – to win and go to the Super Bowl.”
“We have to keep working, take it week by week, fix our mistakes and get ready for the Cowboys.”
Florio, on Pro Football Talk, said: “When you develop the ability to do what they’ve been doing late in the game, you develop trust between your players and your team that it’s going to happen.
“How can a smart person not watch the game and come away thinking, ‘this is their year’?
Minnesota’s season continues when they host Dallas on Sunday at 9.15pm, live on Sky Sports. Will they keep the winning streak?
