Justin Jefferson Can Break Another NFL Record on Sunday
The Minnesota Vikings had to play the last seven games without their superstar wide receiver. Not many expected the 1-4 franchise to be competitive without its best player but Minnesota won the first five contests without him before dropping the following two matchups. At 6-6 without the starting quarterback on the field, the Vikings must still find a way to win in Las Vegas.
Justin Jefferson Can Break Another NFL Record on Sunday
Justin Jefferson’s return is a huge boost for Kevin O’Connell’s offense which is built around the All-Pro. He is the focal point and everything they do, they do to get the ball into his hands. The 24-year-old will play his second career game without Kirk Cousins throwing him the ball. Sean Mannion started in Lambeau Field in 2021, and the receiver still put up 58 yards in freezing temperatures.
Joshua Dobbs will be his quarterback this time. The veteran is keeping his job despite his dreadful performance versus the Chicago Bears but he has shown the tendency to give his receivers chances, which is good news for Jefferson.
Some of his teammates failed to make plays in recent weeks, that is unlikely to happen with the reigning Offensive Player of the Year who will be in the lineup for the first time since Week 5 when he exited with a hamstring injury. A subsequent stint on IR and a slow ramp-up period ultimately kept him out of seven games. He is fully expected to play on Sunday and does not have an injury designation.
The wideout needs just 117 receiving yards to set the new best for the most yards in a player’s first four career seasons. He is trailing Saints receiver Michael Thomas (5,512) and is currently tied with Hall of Famer and Vikings legend Randy Moss (5,396). Earlier in the season, he passed Torry Holt (5,088) and Jerry Rice (4,881).
Jefferson holds the records for the most yards in the first two and three seasons and wants to continue his all-time pace. He also set the record for the most yards before turning 24 years old and led the league in receiving yards last season. In addition to that, he is the NFL’s all-time record-holder for the most receiving yards per game in a career and set new franchise records in receiving yards and catches in a single season.
The three-time Pro Bowler and his receiving mates T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn, and Jordan Addison will be under pressure to perform as the running game has been non-existent for the majority of the season and the Raiders employ one of the league’s top defenses against the run since their head coaching change a few weeks ago.
Jefferson has mentioned that 1,000 yards is his new goal for the season, he needs 429 yards in five games, which equals 85.8 yards per game. His career average is 98.1 and he posted 114.2 in the first five games of the season, although those numbers came with Cousins throwing him the ball.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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