Justin Jefferson has had plenty of forgettable games during his career with the Minnesota Vikings. But something about Jefferson's underwhelming performance in the Vikings' loss to the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday seemed more off than normal.
People watching the game at home could see the Minnesota wide receiver visibly frustrated multiple times during the contest, and it eventually led some to even question his effort in the matchup.
On Thursday, Jefferson spoke with the local Twin Cities media, and he talked about his Week 10 performance and his body language during the loss.
"I mean, I feel like it definitely wasn't one of my best games, but I would say I want to win.
I'm not really mad at the situation that I'm in. I'm not mad at the players that we have, or the plays [that are] being called.
Of course, I'm mad after an interception. You want me to be happy and go chase them down? That's not really something that I want to happen, and, of course, the outcome of the game is us losing, and I was the one that's getting thrown that ball, and you know, it's getting picked off.
So, a lot of emotion goes into that.
But at the end of the day, I want to win, and I'm an ultra competitor. A lot of people that don't play this game and don't play sports, don't understand the competitive side of it.
I want to win, and, emotionally, things get heated sometimes. Things weren't going our way at that moment. So, just wanting a better outcome, and, of course, the offense that we have, I feel like we should be playing better than what we are."
Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson typically rebounds after bad games
Last weekend against the Ravens, Jefferson walked off the field with only four catches for 37 yards. It was the lowest amount of receiving yards he's gained in a single game since Week 12 of the 2024 campaign, when he only hauled in two passes for 27 yards in a Vikings win over the Chicago Bears.
Following that underwhelming performance against the Bears last season, Jefferson went out and caught seven balls for 99 yards the very next week to help Minnesota get a Week 13 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Some of the best performances of Jefferson's NFL career have happened in the week right after a bad game.
Back in a game against the Detroit Lions in Week 14 of the 2022 season, the Vikings receiver had an amazing day where he finished with a whopping 11 catches for 223 yards. This performance came a week after Jefferson caught seven passes for only 45 yards and one touchdown in a Minnesota win over the New York Jets.
Before that, he had a miserable outing with only three catches for 14 yards in a Vikings' loss to the Lions in Week 3 of the 2022 season. Guess what happened in the very next game? Yup, Jefferson went off and finished with 10 catches for 147 yards in a Minnesota Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints.
Of course, he didn't have a quarterback with only four career starts to his name throwing to him in those games. However, if history tells us anything, Jefferson is going to be even more motivated to go out on the field this weekend and put together the type of magnificent performance that people have become used to seeing from him throughout his NFL career.