All Eyes Turn to Justin Jefferson in Next Few Games
If you care about statistics — and perhaps the player’s peace of mind — all attention turns to Justin Jefferson in the Minnesota Vikings’ next three games. The man needs 168 receiving yards to keep his 1,000-yard season streak alive.
The math is simple, and the spotlight is unavoidable: Jefferson is still producing at a semi-high level, but the next stretch will show whether he can keep his nifty streak alive.
One hundred sixty-eight in three games once felt like a cakewalk for Jefferson, something he could do with his eyes closed, but there’s real doubt about Jefferson missing the cut-off in 2025.
The Numbers Jefferson Needs to Reach 1,000 Yards
Start your engines; Jefferson needs 56 yards per game.
The Magic Number Is 168
The mark so far: 832 yards. Jefferson has posted that yardage total on 66 catches, while contributing 2 touchdowns for his troubles — all paltry marks for the best wide receiver in football.
Jefferson even yanked in a touchdown grab on Sunday night at Dallas, but the referees called it back due to a Josh Oliver penalty. Nothing has gone right for Jefferson since J.J. McCarthy returned to the starting lineup in October.
Jefferson and McCarthy must find immediate chemistry, or Jefferson’s impressive 1,000-yard streak will die. He needs 56 yards per game. That’s it. For his sake, that’s about six targets if McCarthy continues his semi-accurate ways that he has shown in the last two games.
A Mike Evans Streak
For 11 seasons, Evans tabulated 1,000+ yard seasons, even when quarterback play in Tampa Bay wasn’t necessarily steady at all times. Evans certainly didn’t create the 1,000-yard-per-season streak, but because of his accomplishments since 2014, folks track the stat rather intently.
And Jefferson is directly on Evans’ path; he’ll be halfway there if he nets 168 yards in three games.
Sadly, Evans’ streak will end this season, only tallying 272 receiving yards in five games. Injuries ransacked his streak, and it is dead.
Jefferson hopes to avoid the fate of Evans in 2025.
Can the Quarterback Make It Happen?
In many ways, the Jefferson streak is up to McCarthy.
The young passer posted several dastardly games to start his career, before appearing to turn the corner in Week 14 against the Washington Commanders. He also played great last weekend at Dallas.
But even with McCarthy’s emergence as a decent young quarterback, Jefferson hasn’t really participated in the fun. McCarthy and Jefferson have not built chemistry — it’s the damndest thing. The McCarthy–Jefferson connection still feels temporarily cursed, like it’s one beat off from functioning properly.
One week, it’s a miss that sails just long, the next, it’s a perfectly placed throw that hits the turf anyway because of a Jefferson drop. On Sunday night, even when they finally got it right in the red zone, the touchdown vanished under a yellow flag. Every version of bad luck seems to find that pairing. But that kind of dysfunction never holds forever. When it finally snaps into place, Jefferson won’t just help the offense — he’ll detonate it.
Jefferson Keeping a Cool Head
Thankfully, Jefferson has acted like a consummate professional throughout his teensy stretch with McCarthy beginning his liftoff. Jefferson has banked just 220 receiving yards in the last seven games, which is about what a mid-range WR3 would post in a full season.
In fact, those are Jalen Nailor-ish stats.
But aside from politely voicing frustration about the offense when asked by reporters, Jefferson has stood by his quarterback, coach, and team through thick and thin. NFL media has tried to spin a tale about a possible trade in the offseason, but Jefferson just blocks out the noise.
It has also helped that Minnesota won the last two games.
Get Jefferson the ball — and also win the game: that’s the next step for Vikings football with McCarthy under center.
SI.com on Jefferson
Joe Nelson of SI.com noted on Jefferson Monday, “It’s obvious that Justin Jefferson and J.J. McCarthy have yet to develop the rhythm and chemistry that Jefferson had with previous Vikings quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold, but their evolution together would’ve looked a lot further along had it not been for two missed touchdown opportunities during Minnesota’s 34-26 win over the Cowboys on Sunday night.”
“McCarthy fired a dart to Jefferson in the back of the end zone for a touchdown that was taken away by an illegal formation penalty in the first half, and in the second half, Jefferson had a perfectly thrown pass go through his hands in the corner of the end zone. How did Jefferson, one of the most sure-handed players in the league, not catch it? So much for all that talk about McCarthy not having a strong arm, eh, Colin Cowherd?”
Jefferson has also said that McCarthy throws the pigskin with extreme velocity.
Nelson continued, “Jefferson had two catches for 22 yards, but his night could’ve been a lot bigger. Not only could he have had two short touchdown receptions, but McCarthy overthrew him when he was wide open going across the middle of the field, and Jefferson couldn’t haul in a contested play down the sideline when McCarthy put a ball between his numbers.”
“For the season, Jefferson has 66 catches for 832 yards and two touchdowns. He has just two 100-yard games and none since Oct. 5, and he’s totaled six receptions for 37 yards and no touchdowns in his last three games. Despite the struggle, he spoke with optimism on Sunday night.”
Again — Jefferson needs 56 yards per game to reach the 1,000-yard mark. Count them down.
You must be logged in to post a comment.