Justin Jefferson was already a household name in the NFL, but the one-handed crazy catch on fourth down cemented his legacy in the league.
Justin Jefferson : Catch today | Crazy catch | Stats
Jefferson attended Destrehan High School in Destrehan, Louisiana.
A low 3 star prospect, ranked the nations 308th best wide receiver coming out of high school, he committed to Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college football.
After appearing in two games and not recording a catch his first year at LSU in 2017, Jefferson was their leading receiver in 2018 with 54 catches for 875 yards and six touchdowns.
As a junior in 2019, Jefferson led the country with 111 receptions. His 18 receiving touchdowns ranked second in the country—behind only teammate Ja’Marr Chase—and his 1,540 receiving yards were third most.
Justin Jefferson catch today
You have to see this Justin Jefferson catch. It was fourth-and-18 from the Vikings’ 27. Kirk Cousins was under pressure. He heaved it up and … oh, wow. This was incredible.
This catch, where Jefferson pulled the ball away from the Bills’ Cam Lewis with one hand, then used his momentum to secure the ball against his body, was incredible.
That it came on fourth down, in a do-or-die situation, with the Vikings attempting to rally from a 17-point second-half deficit … it has to be one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. Surely it would be the defining moment and unquestionable highlight from this game.
Well, no. The Vikings drove down the field, and Jefferson appeared a touchdown on third and goal, but was ruled down at the half-yard line on replay.
Dalvin Cook dropped an easy touchdown on fourth-and-goal, but the Bills’ Jordan Phillips was offsides. Now it was fourth-and-goal with just inches to go.
Justin Jefferson crazy catch
That’s the approach that Kirk Cousins and the Vikings offense took on Sunday against the Bills, and to great effect.
The star wide receiver was already having a standout game before Minnesota’s final offensive possession. Then, he pulled off one of the best catches you’ll ever see.
Facing a fourth-and-18 with under two minutes to play, Cousins heaved the ball up to Jefferson in heavy traffic.
Bills defensive back Cam Lewis appeared well in position to make the interception—but Jefferson had other ideas.
That incredible grab set off perhaps the most chaotic sequences of the season. After advancing the ball inside the 10-yard line, Cousins found Jefferson again for what was initially ruled as a go-ahead touchdown. Officials overturned the call, saying that Jefferson was down at the 1-yard line.
After an offsides penalty moved the ball even closer, Cousins attempted a quarterback sneak but was stuffed, giving the ball back to the Bills.
On the ensuing play, however, Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen fumbled the snap, and the Vikings recovered in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
But Allen and the Bills were not done yet, with the offense getting into field goal range in four plays and 39 seconds. Tyler Bass hit the 29-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.
Stats
Jefferson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Vikings previously obtained the 22nd selection as part of a blockbuster trade that sent wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills.
|
Year
|
Team
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
LNG
|
TD
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2022
|
MIN
|
69
|
1,060
|
15.4
|
64
|
4
|
|
2021
|
MIN
|
108
|
1,616
|
15.0
|
56
|
10
|
|
2020
|
MIN
|
88
|
1,400
|
15.9
|
71
|
7
|
|
Career
|
|
265
|
4,076
|
15.4
|
71
|
21
|
Jefferson made his debut in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, recording two receptions for 26 yards.
He made his first start of the season in a Week 3 game against the Tennessee Titans, where he had his first big breakthrough by finishing with 175 receiving yards and a touchdown on seven receptions, but the Vikings lost 30–31.
He followed up that performance the next week with four receptions for 103 yards in a 31–23 win over the Houston Texans.
In doing so, he became just the fifth rookie wide receiver in Vikings history to have back to back games with at least 100 yards receiving.
During Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons, Jefferson finished with nine receptions for 166 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1, Jefferson caught nine passes for a career high 184 yards and two touchdowns in the 23-7 win.
During Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Jefferson finished with 147 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown as the Vikings won 28-25. The following week against Chicago, Jefferson caught a career-high 12 catches – resulting in 154 yards receiving – in a 29-22 win.
Jefferson’s third catch of the game marked 227 career receptions, surpassing Randy Moss for the franchise record of the most receptions in the first three years of a career.