Tag: Justin Jefferson

Vikings land three players in the 2022 Pro Bowl

The Vikings’ Pro Bowl selections were revealed on Monday.

S Harrison Smith said Vikings GM Rick Spielman scared him.

Spielman told Smith that the GM had received a call from the league, which might sound worrisome on the surface. Not a bad call, though: Smith had been selected to his sixth Pro Bowl.

“Actually, this is the fun part of my job,” Spielman said.

In addition to Smith, the Vikings landed RB Dalvin Cook and WR Justin Jefferson in the 2022 Pro Bowl. Spielman called Cook as well and delivered the news in a similar way, only Cook did not seem scared.

“Let’s go, appreciate it, Rick,” Cook said on the other line.

The running back made his third consecutive Pro Bowl with the 2022 selection. You can see Spielman call Smith and Cook here:

Jefferson received the news in a different way:

As Randy Moss pointed out, Jefferson made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season as well. The Bears, the Vikings’ Week 15 opponent, had KR Jakeem Grant and DE Robert Quinn make the Pro Bowl.

Predicting the Vikings’ game against the Bears

Who is going to win tonight?

Minnesota notched its record to 6-7 last week when the team pulled off a home win over Pittsburgh.

It wasn’t easy. The Vikings let up in the second half and allowed 28 points. The Steelers lost on the final play when QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a great ball to TE Pat Freiermuth in the end zone, but Freiermuth couldn’t come down with the game-winning touchdown grab.

The Vikings can’t have another second-half performance like that, not if the team wants to get back to .500 and start a run towards the postseason.

Here are some Vikings Wire staff predictions for week 15 against the Bears:

Three matchups to watch in the Vikings-Bears game

Here are three matchups to watch when the Vikings take on the Bears in Week 15:

The Vikings have a pivotal matchup this week where the team can notch their record back to .500 and start a late surge towards the 2021 postseason. And an NFC North rival gets to possibly play spoiler.

Minnesota heads to Chicago to take on the Bears on Monday night. At 4-9, the Bears have not had a lot of things go their way, especially recently. Chicago has been hit hard by COVID-19 protocol, so it remains to be seen who is in the starting lineup for the team.

Vikings Wire attempts to parse that, all while giving three matchups to watch in Week 15:

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson continues to defend OBJ

Let it be known: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is team OBJ.

The Browns made a splash in the trade market when they landed then-Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. in 2019. Beckham, thought of as an elite wideout at the time, did not have the stint in Cleveland that some envisioned.

Now, Beckham has found a new NFL home in Los Angeles. The former All-Pro wide receiver showed why the Rams wanted him when he had 77 yards receiving and a touchdown grab in the Monday night victory over the Cardinals.

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson thinks that’s proof: Beckham cannot be blamed for his tumultuous time with the Browns.

Jefferson has been a staunch defender of Beckham this year. He wore a ‘Free Odell’ T-shirt during warmups and even said he told Beckham to not sign with the Packers in free agency this year.

Here’s his latest defense of Beckham:

Beckham has 204 receiving yards in four games and three starts with Los Angeles. Jefferson has 1,288 receiving yards and eight touchdowns with the Vikings in 2021.

Justin Jefferson throws OBJ shade at Mayfield, Browns during MNF

Troll/shade time as Jefferson blasts Mayfield, Browns for his fellow LSU Tiger OBJ during MNF. Cleveland focused on making the playoffs for 2nd straight year without OBJ:

The Cleveland Browns moved on from Odell Beckham Jr. weeks ago but they will still have loose connections with him for at least the rest of this season. The Browns have struggled to be explosive on offense most of this season but especially since Beckham’s departure. While he wasn’t producing at a high level, he did draw attention from the defense that opened things up for others.

The internal struggles are noted without a lot of details available about what the problems were in Cleveland. Baker Mayfield made note of “internal stuff” when speaking to Kurt Warner in a video posted just prior to Week 14’s game.

One of Beckham’s defenders, including wearing a #FreeOBJ shirt, has been Minnesota receiver Justin Jefferson. An LSU alum along with Beckham, Jefferson took an opportunity during Monday Night Football to throw shade and Mayfield and the Browns:

Beckham had six receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown Monday. In his four games with the Los Angeles Rams, he has 15 receptions for 204 yards and three touchdowns. In his six games in Cleveland, Beckham had 17 receptions for 232 yards and zero touchdowns.

Of note, the Browns beat Jefferson’s Vikings earlier this year, perhaps that adds fuel to his fire against Cleveland.

The blame game in sports is always an interesting one. It isn’t surprising to see a former Tiger stick up for his friend once again. The Browns, on the other hand, are focused on trying to win the AFC North and making the playoffs for a second straight year without Beckham.

Vikings’ wideout duo feasts on man coverage this year

Vikings WRs Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson THRIVE in man coverage this year.

Minnesota has relied on the two-pronged attack of Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen for much of 2021.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has done a good job of finding his top wideout targets in advantageous positions like man coverage, for example. According to PFF, Thielen and Jefferson have the highest passer rating when targeted in man coverage this year.

Thielen is first in the league with a passer rating of 143.4 while in man coverage. Jefferson’s mark of 140.9 ranks him second in the league. Surprisingly, Kendrick Bourne of the New England Patriots ranks third in the NFL with a passer rating of 140.2 while targeted.

Thielen, who was dealing with an ankle injury, had to sit out Week 14 against the Steelers. The Vikings had K.J. Osborn step up: he finished with 83 receiving yards and a touchdown. But Osborn is not Thielen —the Vikings need their top-two wide receivers to stay healthy. Hopefully for the team, Thielen can make a speedy return.

Vikings offensive PFF grades: Best and worst from the loss to the Lions

Who stood out on offense in the Vikings’ loss to the Lions?

The Vikings scored 27 points, but failed to beat the Lions in Week 13. Now, Minnesota has to figure out what went wrong.

Here are the best and worst PFF grades on the Vikings offense from the game:

Just a note: Players on this list needed to play at least 15 snaps in the game against the Lions in order to qualify.

At least Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is off to a great start

In his first two seasons, Vikings WR Justin Jefferson is in elite company.

Vikings fans might struggle to find a lot of positives from these last two seasons.

Minnesota finished 7-9 in 2020. The Vikings’ 2021 is currently not looking great with the team at 5-7 after the loss to the Lions.

Let’s take note of something positive with this article at least: the Vikings have a star wide receiver in Justin Jefferson.

Jefferson finished the Lions game with 182 receiving yards and a touchdown on Sunday. He currently has 2,609 career receiving yards, which puts him in elite company.

Jefferson has the third-most receiving yards by a player through their first two seasons in the Super Bowl era. Only Odell Beckham Jr. (2,755) and Randy Moss (2,726) have more (H/T Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune).

Oh yeah, and Jefferson has five more games to try and raise his numbers. Adam Thielen suffered an ankle sprain during the Lions game. If Thielen ends up missing game time, Jefferson could be looking at an even-bigger role in the offense.

Vikings vs. Lions: Three matchups to watch

Here are three matchups to watch in the Vikings-Lions game Sunday:

The Vikings can get back to .500 this week against an NFC North rival.

Minnesota plays Detroit in Week 13. The Vikings are favored for a reason: Minnesota won last time against Detroit and the Lions have zero victories thus far.

The Vikings have a decent chance of getting their 2021 back on track yet again. Here are three key matchups to watch: