Minnesota Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson couldn’t care less that he ended his six-game drought of 100-yard performances on Sunday.
Jefferson caught 10 passes for 126 yards, but his team fell short, 24-21, against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Ireland, where he didn’t get to dance the Griddy in the end zone. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 1 against the Chicago Bears, his lone score of the season.
“Definitely a sick taste in our mouth, just hurting ourselves really, just shooting ourselves in the foot and just giving them more opportunities to really get points or gain that momentum,” Jefferson told reporters afterward.
“We’re still figuring it out,” Jefferson continued. “Just dealing with different circumstances, injuries, people having to step up in different spots. It’s difficult. … We’ve got to look at the film to really digest it for real.”
Minnesota dropped to 2-2 as the team didn’t get into the end zone until the fourth quarter. That’s three of four games, now, where the Vikings haven’t scored a touchdown during the first three quarters.
Jefferson started strong for the Vikings with receptions of four, nine, 22, and three yards on the first possession. Minnesota only came away with a field goal after the Steelers sacked quarterback Carson Wentz for the first of six times.
Wentz threw two interceptions and fumbled once but the Vikings recovered the fumble at least. Minnesota only managed two field goals amid the miscues before touchdown drives by Wentz in the fourth quarter.
“I’m not going to lie, those are tough. They kind of derailed, I thought, we had some decent momentum going on a couple drives,” Wentz told reporters afterward.
That’s including a 29-yard completion to Jefferson that only led to kicker Will Reichard’s second field goal of the game.
How the Other Vikings Receivers Performed
GettyJalen Nailor grabs a touchdown for the Vikings.
Jefferson benefitted from the return of wide receiver Jordan Addison, who had four receptions and 114 yards. That took pressure off of Jefferson, who had a strong No. 2 receiver to work with for the first time this season.
Addison served a three-game suspension due to off-field misconduct before the season. He had the longest play of the game with an 81-yard reception from Wentz in the fourth quarter, which set up Wentz’s touchdown pass to wideout Jalen Nailor that cut the deficit to 24-21.
Zavier Scott, who caught Wentz’s other touchdown, had six receptions for 43 yards. Tight end T.J. Hockenson had four catches for 39 yards, and running back Jordan Mason had four receptions for 15 yards.
Wideout Adam Thielen had two catches for 11 yards as his return to the Vikings has remained rather quiet. Thielen has just four receptions for 37 yards in four games this season.
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Wentz finished with 30-46 passing for 350 yards, and he rushed for 12 yards on two carries. Mason had 57 yards on 16 carries, and Scott had a yard between his two attempts.
I thought we tried to do everything, every which way we could try to limit T.J. Watts’ effectiveness,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters afterward. “We had some breakdowns in some other areas, and it just kind of took us out of the flow of being able to run the football. It took us out of the flow of being able to use our play-action pass game.”
Justin Jefferson Sound Off After Loss to Steelers