Copyright Star Tribune
In addressing Monday what looked to be the visible frustration on multiple occasions of star Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson during Sunday’s 27-19 loss to the Ravens, head coach Kevin O’Connell framed it as being upset about physical play and a lack of calls from officials. “We’ve got competitors and sometimes that thing can present itself differently when you’re talking about this guy to the next guy, but I have no concerns with Justin,” O’Connell said. Should we be more concerned about Jefferson? I’ll take a look at that question and other Minnesota sports trends in today’s 10 things to know: Jefferson is averaging career lows in almost every receiving category, including yards per game (76.2) and yards per target (8.2). He also has just two touchdown catches; he’s never finished a healthy season with fewer than seven. Particularly notable: In four games playing with young QB J.J. McCarthy, Jefferson has just 17 catches for 209 yards (average of 52 yards per game), though both of his TD grabs came from McCarthy. In five games with veteran Carson Wentz, Jefferson caught 34 passes for 477 yards (95 yards per game), which aligns much more closely with his career averages. Jefferson has never had to play for an extended stretch with a young quarterback before this season, spending the bulk of his first four years with Kirk Cousins and all of 2024 with Sam Darnold. Jefferson showed frustration at a McCarthy overthrow Sunday and didn’t hustle after an interception. I’ve had multiple emailers suggest Jefferson is “checked out,” but I think we’re a long way from there. He had a bad game Sunday, as did a lot of his teammates. He and McCarthy aren’t synced up right now, which is troubling but not unexpected given Jefferson’s training camp injury, McCarthy’s in-season injury and McCarthy’s age. Jefferson is only 26 and still elite. But the connection between the two and Jefferson’s body language over the final eight games of the year are squarely in focus as things to watch as the sample size grows. McCarthy is 0-2 at home and 2-0 on the road. He’s also 2-0 against the NFC North and 0-2 against other teams. One trend has to change Sunday when the Vikings host the Bears. La Velle E. Neal III and I graded McCarthy’s performance so far and tried to make sense of the division on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
