If the description was accurate, then few could blame him.
Justin Jefferson and the Vikings dropped down to 3-4 as a result of losing on Thursday Night Football. The Chargers were dominant, dismantling Minnesota by a score of 37-10. During the game, Jefferson expressed some anger, leading Alec Lewis of The Athletic to observe: “Justin Jefferson is livid walking into the locker room. Josh McCown came over to tap him to try to keep him uplifted. Walking very slowly in, alone.”
Justin Jefferson Isn’t Pleased
In fairness, Lewis could be off. He’s a good writer, but maybe he was misreading the situation. That doesn’t appear likely, however.
For starters, there’s the basic reality that Justin Jefferson is a great competitor. The WR1 very much wants to win. Achieving team success has been elusive within his NFL career. Sure, there have been some strong regular seasons, but nothing afterwards. Currently, there isn’t even success in the regular season. The simple observation that Jefferson isn’t satisfied makes a decent amount of sense.
Making Lewis’s claim even more persuasive is that Justin Jefferson talked to the media after the game. If the key word of Carson Wentz’s post-game presser was “pain,” then Jefferson’s may have been “frustration.”
“Just losing the way we lost,” Jefferson explains in response to what made the game upsetting. He goes on: “It’s just frustrating, just going out there and performing the way we’ve been performing. Not putting up points and not getting stops.”
Shrinking things down to non-verbal communication wouldn’t leave much room for ambiguity. Justin Jefferson doesn’t look like someone who is pleased. He’s subdued and restrained in his responses, professionally answering questions but devoid of the upbeat charm that often characterizes the manner in which he speaks.
Toward the end of his discussion with the media, Jefferson explains that he didn’t foresee the team struggling so much: “I’m very surprised just with the talent that we have out there on that field.”
On a basic numbers level, Justin Jefferson didn’t have a disastrous game. The 11 targets sent in his direction got turned into 7 catches for 74 yards. A lot of receivers would be very pleased by that output, but Jefferson isn’t thrilled. And, no doubt, he shouldn’t be.
At 26, Jefferson is operating within his sixth NFL season. He’s a team captain and has accomplished much on a personal level: getting sent to the Pro Bowl, being an All Pro, winning Offensive Player of the Year, and being a contender for league MVP (among other accomplishments). All of that has arrived for Jefferson.
One thing he lacks: meaningful team success. Justin Jefferson wants to achieve great things individually. He also wants to achieve great things on a team level.
More specifically, he wants to get into the postseason and make some noise. A major part of what has undermined his ability to do so is needing to work through catching the ball from Kirk Cousins, Nick Mullens, Josh Dobbs, Jaren Hall, J.J. McCarthy, and Carson Wentz. Many of these QBs have excellent abilities but none have (so far) been capable of being elite.
In time, perhaps, McCarthy can be the quarterback who turns things around. That’s a lot to ask of a 22-year-old passer, but the cruel reality is that the sophomore needs to help Minnesota win.
Jefferson, a historically-great receiver, isn’t pleased by where Minnesota finds itself. The Vikings would be wise to operate with a sense of urgency to address the issue.
