Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins have Minnesota Vikings on rise in NFC North
Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson was all smiles following his team's wild 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
And he had every right to be. The Vikings had just handed their more-heralded NFC North rivals only their third loss the season, pulling within two games of the division lead in the process.
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Pam Oliver caught up with Justin Jefferson after his big performance in the Minnesota Vikings' victory over the Green Bay Packers.
They didn't dominate their foes, but outmaneuvered them deftly while playing practically error-free football — zero turnovers, only three penalties for 25 yards, three touchdowns in four trips to the red zone — coming away with the win when Greg Joseph's 29-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired.
"I feel like this offense is top in the league … we can go a long way," Jefferson said.
They were bold words for a player on a .500 team (5-5 after Sunday's win), but there is evidence to back up his claim. Sunday's dramatic win didn't come out of nowhere, but was merely the latest sign over the Vikings' last five games that they could very well be contenders.
And Jefferson might be the biggest reason why.
Jefferson broke on the scene as a rookie in 2020, catching 88 passes for 1,400 yards and earning a trip to the Pro Bowl. But things started slow this season, as the 22-year-old out of LSU surpassed the 100-yard mark only once in his first four games, a stretch in which the Vikings started 1-3.
The last two games have certainly corrected that issue. Over their last two games — wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Packers — Jefferson has been targeted 21 times by quarterback Kirk Cousins, catching 17 of them for 312 yards.
On Sunday, Jefferson surpassed 100 yards in the first quarter, the first NFL player to do so this season. He also drew a 37-yard pass interference penalty on Packers DB Darnell Savage in the second quarter, a big boost on a drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to Adam Thielen for a 16-3 lead.
As Jefferson said in a pregame interview with FOX Sports' Charissa Thompson, getting more involved in the offense has been a conscious team decision.
"We've been talking about it all week, you know, giving me more targets," Jefferson said. "… Let me work in space, and we showed that last weekend."
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In a sit-down interview with Charissa Thompson, Justin Jefferson discusses progressing from last season, last week's performance in Los Angeles and the honor of receiving praise from Packers star Davante Adams.
But the Vikings' success goes beyond simply throwing the ball to their best receiver more frequently. They also continue to have a strong running game behind Dalvin Cook, who has rushed for 508 yards over his last five games.
And perhaps more important has been the efficient play of Cousins, as he has completed 122 of his 183 pass attempts (66.67%) for 1,379 yards, 11 TDs and no interceptions during that same five-game stretch. And for those asserting that Cousins comes up small in the biggest games, that run now includes victories over the Carolina Panthers, Chargers and Packers, a four-point loss to the Dallas Cowboys and an overtime defeat in Baltimore against the Ravens.
On Sunday, he was better than ever, passing for 341 yards and three touchdowns. And on the final drive of the game with the score tied 31-31, Cousins used every bit of the 2:08 remaining, driving his team from its own 25 to put Joseph in position for the game-winner, and leaving reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers no chance at a final response.
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Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings executed the two-minute drill to perfection in a 34-31 win over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Cousins' efficiency has carried over to the rest of the team, which has committed only two turnovers in its last five games.
They're also 6-1 in their last seven games against NFC North foes, and they have four more of those on their schedule this season — including at Green Bay on Jan. 2. They're learning how to win close contests, as nine of their 10 games this season have been decided by eight points or fewer, the most in the NFL.
Despite all of this, the Vikings still sit at 5-5. They have more work to do if they're going to shrink the two-game lead that the Packers possess.
The last five games show that they might be on the right track, though, and that Jefferson might be right in thinking that the Vikings can "go a long way."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.