MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Jefferson continued his ascent up the team standings in a 34-7 victory over the Texans to commemorate Vikings Legends Weekend.
With 400 receptions going into Sunday’s game, the Vikings sensation tied Ring of Honor receiver Ahmad Rashad for sixth place all-time in team history.
With his first reception of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans, a 9-yard catch that advanced the chains on third-and-7, Jefferson got past Rashad.
His 33rd career receiving touchdown tied him with Jake Reed for seventh place in franchise history on his next reception, a 6-yarder for six points.
It’s interesting to note that Rashad has 34 touchdown catches while Reed has 413 receptions with Minnesota, which puts him second on the list of leaders.
With three games played in his fifth professional season, Jefferson has already tallied up 406 receptions, including six receptions for 81 yards in the first half. Despite suffering a thigh injury in Week 2, he did not exhibit any symptoms of weakness.
During Minnesota’s second play, which resulted in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold to Aaron Jones, Sr., for a 14-0 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter, he had catches of 28 and 5 yards.
Early in the second quarter, he would have also scored a 13-yard touchdown on third-and-9, but Jalen Nailor’s illegal motion penalty made it impossible.
On Minnesota’s last play of the first half, Jefferson started things off with a 21-yard reception and then added a 12-yard gain on third-and-11. Even though the drive ended in a punt, the Vikings managed to hold off on giving the ball back to the Texans until there were just 34 seconds left. In the second half, Jefferson was targeted twice but failed to catch either pass.
But Darnold didn’t let up, tossing passes to teammates for touchdowns of four yards to Nailor and two yards to Johnny Mundt.
Jefferson was seen flexing his hand on the sidelines by CBS television cameras. When questioned about it, he clarified that Jefferson’s finger was jammed by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr. while attempting to challenge a catch.
It was nothing serious, according to Jefferson. “We had X-rays and other tests. I continued to play the remainder of the game, so everything was good, and everything was fine.”
Even though it’s not surprising to see Jefferson climbing the leaderboard or breaking a league record every week, it was different for a team that has played so many one-possession games in history that the Vikings’ easy victory allowed him and the other starters to take a little rest in the fourth quarter.
“I’ve never had one before. It feels so good, man,” Jefferson remarked. “Not playing a little bit in the fourth quarter because we’re up, you know, that’s something that I could get used to, for sure.”
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