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It was a decorated Christmas Eve for Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson.
The third-year wideout surpassed not one, but two, franchise records held by legendary Hall of Famers Cris Carter and Randy Moss.
Early in the first quarter of Saturday’s 27-24 win over the New York Giants, Jefferson caught a 25-yard pass to surpass Moss’ single-season franchise record of 1,632 receiving yards from 2003.
But the second record of the day came under much higher stakes.
Facing third-and-11 with 18 seconds left in regulation, Jefferson snared the ball on a screen and sliced through a wall of blockers for a first down across midfield. It was Jefferson’s 12th and final catch of the game that sets him at 123 receptions through 15 games, overtaking Carter for the most catches in a single season. Jefferson’s record-breaking catch capped a 133-yard game, but more importantly, set up Greg Joseph‘s franchise record 61-yard field goal to clinch a walk-off victory.
Carter has been an avid follower of the Vikings and a fan of Jefferson since the two connected back in 2020. Carter gave Jefferson props after the game for surpassing a pair of 122-catch seasons he posted in 1994 and 1995.
“Congrats @JJettas2 on breaking the @Vikings single season receptions record,” Carter tweeted after the thrilling finish.
Cris Carter Ranks Justin Jefferson Above Randy Moss
Carter’s longevity in Minnesota has held him higher than Moss in several career categories.
While not claiming to be the greatest wide receiver of in Vikings history, Carter projected that if he is held in that regard for his records, Jefferson is well on his way to taking that crown.
However, Carter doubled down, throwing his hat in the ring that Jefferson could be ranked above Moss as the undisputed greatest Vikings receiver of all time.
“I will take the third position,” Carter said when asked to rank himself, Moss and Jefferson on the Up and Adams Show on December 12. “I will make Randy Moss second and that’s a high, high second because I do believe that Justin does a few things better than him: catching the ball in traffic, his ability to get in and out of his breaks, the variety of his routes and he goes in motion a lot more than Randy ever went in motion.
“Randy Moss is a bad dude, a first-ballot Hall of Famer so it’s not to talk bad about Randy, but it lets you know how good Justin Jefferson is,” Carter added, clarifying Jefferson has potential to be better than Moss and himself. “Randy’s done it. I’ve done it. Justin Jefferson has the ability to be better. He does things at a higher level than we could do. Can he sustain those things? That’s up to him.”
Justin Jefferson Addresses Breaking Randy Moss’ Record
Jefferson had his eyes on Moss’ single-game receiving yards record this season, and despite reaching his goal, is still not settling any time soon.
“It’s a blessing. It’s an honor to break his record, to be in the conversation,” Jefferson said of Moss in a locker room interview after the game. “But he has the golden jacket. That’s what I want at the end of my career, so I’m still chasing him for sure.”
Starting the season with the most receiving yards by a receiver in their first two years, Jefferson is a runaway to claim the same feat through his third year.
With two games to go, Jefferson is 209 yards shy of breaking Calvin Johnson‘s NFL record 1,964 receiving yards in a single season.
And after a monstrous run through the month of December, posting 524 yards in his past four games, Jefferson is on pace for his goal of becoming the first receiver to reach 2,000 receiving yards in a single season.
Currently, he has 123 catches for 1,756 receiving yards, averaging 117.1 yards per game this season. He is 244 yards away from reaching 2,000 on the season.
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