Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson skipped a media session at Ford Field just two weeks ago because he was so frustrated with how the offense performed in a 19-15 loss to the Detroit Lions, but the star pass-catcher was plenty talkative after the return of quarterback Kirk Cousins against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field Sunday.
Jefferson actually spent a good amount of his time on the microphone praising the Vikings defense, which racked up 12 quarterback hits, eight sacks and four turnovers in a 30-10 rout of the Packers that moved Minnesota into a three-way tie atop the NFC North Division with a record of 7-2.
“With the Vikings’ defense playing this well, Justin Jefferson said, ‘all we have to do is be mediocre’ on offense,” Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reported via X on November 15.
“They’re creating those turnovers. They’re creating havoc. They’re creating so much pressure on the opposite side of the ball, and you never really know what
“They’re creating those turnovers, they’re creating havoc, they’re creating so much pressure on the opposite side of the ball, and you never really know what they’re going to do,” Jefferson continued, per Goessling. “They can show that blitz and get out of it, or they can send the house. So it’s definitely great to have a defense like that.”
Kirk Cousins Credited Vikings Defense for Big Victory Over Packers
Minnesota’s offense was better than mediocre on Sunday, as Cousins finished the afternoon with 207 passing yards for two TDs and one INT, while the run game cleared 100 collective yards with ease and also punched in a score.
For his part, Cousins also gave the defense the credit after they hounded and harassed Packers quarterback Jordan Love from start to finish.
“Our defense just played lights out and kept giving us the ball back,” Cousins said.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell also spoke about the team playing well on both sides of the football in a way that hasn’t really been true since Minnesota beat the Packers by 17 points at U.S. Bank Stadium in the season opener.
“For one of the first times this year, I thought we played complementary football,” O’Connell explained.
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More even than Cousins’ play, his presence in the facility throughout the week and in the huddle at Lambeau Field on Sunday had a calming and confidence-building effect on both sides of the football.
Clearly Kirk Cousins’ performance, and just to put it into words what he was able to accomplish from the time he arrived here,” O’Connell continued. “Ran the show incredibly clean, and I just can’t say enough about him. I know everybody in our organization felt it this week, and just the way he went about it and the way he ultimately came out and played.
“I think it bodes well for the comfort level, hopefully he has with me calling plays, obviously with a lot of those teammates in the huddle, and then just knowing ultimately he’s gonna have the time, energy and conviction to have the plan down and do what he did today,” O’Connell added.
Vikings’ Justin Jefferson Sends ‘Mediocre’ Message After Kirk Cousins’ Return