Tag: Justin Jefferson

Justin Jefferson says naysayers fueled record-breaking season

If the sequel was this good, imagine what the trilogy will be like.

Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson heard all of the talk of a sophomore slump. He listened to the doubt, took it all in and used it as fuel in 2021.

Most thought he would moonwalk quicker than the late, great Michael Jackson after posting a monstrous rookie season—88 receptions for 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. But he came back for a sequel that has blown the original out of the water.

And guess what? It isn’t over yet.

“I feel like I just heard all of the people saying the sophomore slump, him not being able to do it again and that was a lucky first year—I listen to all of those things, and I just let that fuel towards my game,” Jefferson said at a media conference on Thursday.

Jefferson eclipsed Los Angeles Rams receiver Odell Beckham Jr.’s record for the most receiving yards ever in the first two seasons for an NFL player. Now, he’s 124 receiving yards away from surpassing Randy Moss’ single-season franchise record for most receiving yards in a Vikings uniform.

He has 103 receptions for 1,509 yards and nine touchdowns on the season. If this was supposed to be the sophomore slump, the rest of the league has officially been put on notice for 2022.

Glass half SKOL: four reasons to be optimistic about the Vikings

Let’s be optimistic for a second, Vikings fans.

Let’s start with a harsh reality: the Vikings’ 2021 season may be lost.

Minnesota dropped to 7-8 in Week 16 after a disappointing defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. By most estimates, the Vikings have a long ways to go if the team wants to make the postseason this year.

But let’s stay optimistic for a second. The Vikings are not fully out of the playoffs just yet. Even if the team misses the postseason, it’s not the end of the world.

Here’s why:

For the Vikings, a reason for hope

There’s still a chance.

Minnesota fans may be losing faith in their team.

Vikings LB Anthony Barr complained about a lack of crowd noise in the home loss to the Rams in Week 16. Minnesota fell to 7-8 with the defeat, and now the playoffs are looking like a lofty goal.

According to NFL.com, the Vikings still have a 13.5% chance of making the postseason this year. Cynthia Frelund, who works for the outlet, also listed a reason for hope regarding the team:

“Justin Jefferson leads the NFL with 52 receptions and 1,132 yards on downfield attempts (10+ air yards, per NGS), which is 16 more catches than any other player (Tee Higgins and Cooper Kupp are tied at 36). The Pro Bowler’s field-stretching prowess will be a big help in the Vikings’ final two games – both as a weapon, and as a decoy who can draw coverage and open up opportunities for his teammates (especially with Adam Thielen injured).”

At least Jefferson is good. The Vikings have a roster that’s primed for contention if the team can solve a few glaring issues. Maybe that’s why ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently listed Minnesota as the best potential head coaching opening.

Packers defense must be (a lot) better against Justin Jefferson in rematch

The Packers got toasted by Justin Jefferson in the first meeting. Can the defense mount a better challenge this time around?

The last time the Green Bay Packers faced the Minnesota Vikings, the defense had one of its worst performances of the season. Mainly because Joe Barry’s group had no answer for Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson had 100 yards on the day before the first quarter was over. By the end of the game, he had snagged eight receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns. It was his 11th career game with at least 100 yards, tying him with Randy Moss and Juju Smith-Schuster for the second-most in a player’s first two seasons since the 1970 merger.

Since then, Jefferson has broken that record previously set by Odell Beckham Jr. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver watched from the sideline as Jefferson set a new milestone of 2,851 receiving yards in his first two seasons. However, Beckham Jr. would get the last laugh as Los Angeles beat Minnesota 30-23. The loss moved the Vikings to 7-8 on the season and put added pressure on their postseason hopes.

If the playoffs started today, the Vikings wouldn’t be in. The bad news is they must win their last two games, including when they travel to Lambeau Field on Sunday night. Getting the ball to Jefferson as much as possible probably gives them their best chance.

Green Bay will be expecting that. Adam Thielen had season-ending surgery on his injured ankle this week, giving the Packers one less star receiver to worry about. However, that could also mean more targets for Jefferson.

In their last matchup, Jefferson did most of his damage against rookie corner Eric Stokes. According to Pro Football Focus, Stokes surrendered two catches totaling 79 yards against Jefferson, including a third-down touchdown to put the Vikings up by a seven with a little over two minutes remaining. Stokes received his lowest coverage grade of the season for his performance.

Last month, we dug into the breakdowns in coverage against Jefferson from the first meeting. In some instances, good offense just beat good defense, including from Stokes.

Luckily, Green Bay’s first-round pick has been resilient in 2021, but that doesn’t mean he should exclusively line up across from Jefferson this week. The Packers may ask Rasul Douglas, whose confidence is sky-high at the moment, to try his hand against one of the top wide receivers in the league. Douglas came up huge again last week when he intercepted Baker Mayfield twice, including the game-winner with less than a minute left.

Green Bay’s All-Pro corner Jaire Alexander was activated to the 53-man roster on Wednesday. It is still too early to tell when he might be back on the field, but a return against Jefferson would be a great test. Perhaps, too great.

The Packers will likely ease Alexander back into the lineup, which may mean another week of rest.

If not Alexander, then whoever is playing opposite of Jefferson better bring their A-game. Otherwise, he could have another huge day, and Minnesota could sweep the regular-season series against Green Bay for the first time since 2017.

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Justin Jefferson breaks NFL record, OBJ responds with the ‘Griddy’

Odell Beckham Jr does the Griddy against Justin Jefferson’s team.

The LSU Tigers have several former wide receivers currently in the NFL, they have been making a name for themselves.

Justin Jefferson was one of the best receivers in the game with 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. On Sunday when facing the Los Angeles Rams, he broke another former Tigers’ NFL record. Jefferson now holds the mark for most receiving yards in the first two seasons. The original record was 2,755 yards set by Odell Beckham Jr back in 2015 but now Jefferson has 2,851 yards and climbing.

Against the Rams defense, Jefferson hauled in eight passes for 116 yards. He needs just three receptions to have 100 receptions this season with two games remaining. Jefferson also set a new career-best with 1,451 yards. Of course, it is just his second year but still an accomplishment nonetheless.

Beckham Jr and the Rams got the final laugh as they were able to defeat Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 30-23. This kept the Rams in the running for a top-four seed in the NFC playoffs.

After watching Jefferson break his record, OBJ decided he would do the Justin Jefferson touchdown celebration after his fourth quarterback touchdown catch.

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Who won Sunday’s battle between Jalen Ramsey and Justin Jefferson?

Justin Jefferson had 116 yards against the Rams, but not much of that came with Jalen Ramsey in coverage

There was a lot of anticipation for Sunday’s matchup between Jalen Ramsey and Justin Jefferson, who are two of the best players at their respective positions. Ramsey is the ultimate shutdown corner, while Jefferson has emerged as one of the top playmakers anywhere in the NFL in only his second season.

Jefferson said this offseason that he circled the Vikings’ game against the Rams for the sole reason of going up against Ramsey, and then this past week, he mentioned that in order to solidify himself as a top receiver, he had to play well against Ramsey.

Well, Jefferson had a big day with eight catches for 116 yards, but that doesn’t mean he won his matchup with Ramsey – despite what some fans are saying on Twitter.

According to Pro Football Focus, Ramsey lined up across from Jefferson 21 times. Jefferson was targeted by Kirk Cousins five times, but Ramsey allowed just three catches for 24 yards. One reception went for a first down and Jefferson’s longest reception was 9 yards against Ramsey.

The Rams’ Pro Bowl cornerback also broke up one pass when covering Jefferson.

So before you go on Twitter and claim that Jefferson cooked Ramsey for 116 yards, understand that the vast majority of his receptions and yards came against other defenders. He caught two passes for 50 yards against Darious Williams, and had receptions of 21 yards against Dont’e Deayon, 16 yards against Nick Scott and 5 yards against Jordan Fuller.

Ramsey knows how he played against Jefferson and anyone claiming the second-year wideout won this matchup is mistaken.

It was really just another day at the office for the Pro Bowler Ramsey, who’s continued to have an outstanding season with the Rams this year.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson has valid criticism of Minnesota offense

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is right.

Minnesota struggled to capitalize off good field position on Sunday.

The Vikings only went 2-of-5 in the red zone against the Rams in Week 16. Minnesota scored 23 points en route to a devastating loss, one that makes the team’s playoff hopes slim.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson had some comments after the game:

“I think we should be more aggressive when we get down there, as soon as we get down there,” Jefferson said, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “But, I’m not the one calling the plays. I’m just here to do my job and do what’s told to me. But, we can’t get down in the red zone that many.”

Jefferson also had comments pertaining to the energy of the team. He said that he can try to pick up the energy when there isn’t much, but “at the end of the day, I can’t go out and play for them,” Jefferson said, per Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

Here’s the thing: Jefferson is right. The Vikings have to do a better job of attacking opposing teams, especially when Minnesota has a shortened field. The team didn’t do that on Sunday and, ultimately, it cost them.

As for the energy, while that is a thing that’s hard to quantify, the Vikings did seem to look lackluster in their approach at times.

Yes, the Vikings can still possibly turn things around, but at 7-8, the team is on the outside looking in at the playoff window right now. Minnesota may have to make some major changes to the team for 2022 and beyond. It starts with the offense.

TRIVIA QUIZ: LSU Tigers bowl history

LSU Tigers Wire presents a 10-question quiz to test your knowledge of the program’s postseason football history.

The LSU Tigers boast one of the most impressive postseason histories in college football.

With more than 50 postseason appearances and nearly 30 bowl victories, the Bayou Bengals are a bellwether of the holiday season.

Joe Burrow, Billy Cannon, Rohan Davey, Matt Flynn, Leonard Fournette and JaMarcus Russell are just a few of the star players who have sparkled in bowl games for the Tigers through the decades.

With all that in mind, LSU Tigers Wire presents a 10-question quiz to test your knowledge of the program’s postseason football history. We rate this quiz as medium/advanced difficulty.

Also see:
• QUIZ: How well do you know LSU football history?

Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase lead the NFL vs single coverage

This duo is still showing their pass-catching prowess at the NFL level.

Just two years ago in Baton Rouge, Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson were putting up video game-like numbers for the LSU Tigers. That championship season ended with the Bayou Bengals going a perfect 15-0. Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy on the way to a record year. His 60-touchdown record has since been broken by Bailey Zappe, but it is still viewed as one of the best seasons ever.

In 2019 the duo combined for 3,320 yards and 38 touchdowns. That doesn’t even factor in the 671 yards and 13 touchdowns from Terrace Marshall Jr, who is now in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers. According to NBC color commentator Cris Collinsworth who is the owner and chairman of Pro Football Focus, the duo of Chase and Jefferson are still at it in the NFL. They are the best two receivers against single coverage.

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Jefferson’s numbers account for 59.4% of his total yardage. As for rookie wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, his 762 yards account for 73.4% of his total. Despite not playing in the Joe Brady system at the NFL level, they are showing that it was more than just the playcalling that allowed them to strike fear into the hearts of defensive coordinators.

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Justin Jefferson closing in on his rookie numbers in yards

Jefferson looks to Griddy his way to career-highs in year two

During his rookie campaign of 2020, former LSU Tigers wide receiver Justin Jefferson took the league by storm. In his first season, Jefferson posted 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns with the Minnesota Vikings. This season, he looks to far exceed those numbers. He already has with the touchdown receptions.

Heading into the 15th game of the year against the Los Angeles Rams, Jefferson has accumulated 89 receptions, 1,335 yards, and nine touchdowns. He averages 15 yards per reception and 9.7 yards per target. Jefferson’s catch percentage sitting at 65%. More often than not, when it comes his way he will come down with it.

Jefferson’s remaining games:

Not exactly an easy schedule with all three remaining opponents being in the upper half of the NFL in terms of passing yards allowed. The plus for Jefferson is that both Chicago and Green Bay are two of the worst passing defenses in terms of passing touchdowns allowed. The Rams are No. 2 pass defense allowing just one touchdown per game. The Packers rank as No. 26 with 1.8 per game and the Bears are No. 29 with 1.9 per game.

We could still see plenty of Griddy dances in the final three weeks as the Vikings look to secure a spot in the NFL playoffs.

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Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB