Jefferson breaks his silence on the controversial play, explaining the frustration and competitive fire behind his actions during a tough loss.
In last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Justin Jefferson was a headline story after the game, and it wasn’t because of his miraculous on-field catches like it usually is. In fact, he only caught 4 of 12 targets for 37 yards in that loss. Two deep balls thrown his way were picked off, which was the primary reason the Vikings lost the game.
And while he was not at fault for those interceptions, he was the subject of criticism after one of the picks because of his lack of effort to tackle the defender. And rightfully so. When a ball is intercepted, it is in the best interest of the nearby offensive players to try to get the defensive player down. It is an opportunity for a tackle to be logged, which is unique for an offensive player.
Postgame, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell did admit that Jefferson showed some frustration, and while the lack of effort on the field may have been worrisome for Vikings fans to see, the coach had no concerns about Jefferson overall.
In practice this week, Jefferson was asked about the incident and finally shed some light on what happened and his reasoning.
"I'm not really mad at the situation that I'm in or I'm not mad at the players that we have or the plays that are being called," Jefferson said this week. "Of course I'm mad after an interception. You want me to be happy and go chase 'em down? That's not really something I want to happen. Of course, the outcome of the game is us losing.”
It appears all is fine with Jefferson. He is still motivated to win games, and his emotions simply got the best of him in the moment. He wanted to win that game, and the frustration stemmed from the fact that there was an interception instead of him hauling in the deep touchdown he has made look routine so many times, especially in what has been an overall inconsistent and frustrating season for Minnesota’s offense.
"I was the one getting thrown that ball and it's getting picked off. A lot of emotion goes towards that, but at the end of the day I wanna win, and I'm an ultra competitor," Jefferson went on to say.
As the Vikings head into a divisional contest against the Chicago Bears this week, expect Jefferson to give his best effort and look to bounce back from not only the poor on-field performance as a receiver, but also the lack of effort on that particular play. We could be in store for a huge Jefferson game as he looks to respond and reset the narrative.