With only three games left in the 2025 campaign, Minnesota Vikings superstar wideout Justin Jefferson is in danger of not finishing with at least 1,000 receiving yards in a season for the first time in his NFL career.
Heading into this year, Jefferson had a career average of 96.5 receiving yards per game. This season, that average is all the way down to just 59.4 yards per contest.
Multiple factors have contributed to Jefferson's unusual 2025 season, and on Thursday, he answered if not being able to really get into a rhythm with any of the team's new starting quarterbacks this year has had an impact on his production.
"So-so. I mean, it definitely plays a part of it. But that's never an excuse for me. I always say that the opportunities are always going to be slim for me, just because of the coverages and the amount of attention that I have on me.
...It's just one of those years. It's just one of those difficult years that everybody goes through at some point in time. I definitely don't like it, and I definitely hate to be in it. But it just all goes back to the work that I got to put in in the offseason.
Of course, I'm where I'm at in my career. But it's definitely not a time to be lackadaisical and to think that everything is all good.
I just got to still continue to put work in, continue to get with J.J. [McCarthy], to make sure the timing and the connection is continuing to get better during the offseason, and making sure when we get back into this building, we don't go backwards, we continue to go forward in where we would want to go next year."
Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson heading into great matchup vs. New York Giants
If there was ever a perfect game for Jefferson to get back to the elite form that everyone has come to expect from him in his pro career, a matchup on Sunday against the New York Giants, who have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL this season, could be it.
Heading into Week 16, the Giants are allowing the fifth-most receiving yards per contest to opposing wideouts, and they've allowed 11 different receivers to rack up at least 70 yards against them.
It's not like Jefferson isn't being targeted by McCarthy during the last few weeks, either. In McCarthy's last five starts, Jefferson leads the team in targets with 33. However, the pass-catcher's receiving percentage (39.4) also ranks last among Vikings players during this five-game period.
The effort to build the connection between McCarthy and Jefferson is definitely being made. But for whatever reason, the duo just haven't been able to click yet. Hopefully, a trip to New York on Sunday will result in a different outcome.