Heading into Sunday's showdown against the San Francisco 49ers, the Minnesota Vikings knew they were going to need some of their top players, like Justin Jefferson, to come up with big plays if they were going to leave the field with a victory.
Well, it didn't take long for Jefferson to do just that.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON 97 YARD TUDDY!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/0PJs9mheCK
— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024
Justin Jefferson TD vs. San Francisco 49ers will be remembered forever by Minnesota Vikings fans
That's right, Jefferson scored a 97-yard touchdown on Sunday against the 49ers, easily the longest touchdown reception of his young NFL career. The score by Minnesota's top pass-catcher gave the team a 10-0 lead over San Francisco midway through the second quarter.
According to ESPN's Kevin Seifert, the 97-yard connection between Sam Darnold and Jefferson is the second-longest touchdown pass in Vikings history, behind only the 99-yard score by former Minnesota wide receiver Bernard Berrian in 2008.
The play happened after the Vikings' defense came up with a goal-line stand against the 49ers in the second quarter, and as a result, Minnesota's offense began with the ball on its own two-yard line.
After a false-start penalty backed the Vikings up to their own one-yard line, Minnesota running back Aaron Jones gave the offense a little breathing room with a two-yard run up the middle. Following that play, that's when the magic happened.
Darnold faked the handoff to Jones, stepped up in the pocket, and launched the football 50 yards downfield into the hands of Jefferson. After he caught the ball, Minnesota's All-Pro receiver made a series of moves to get away from two San Francisco defenders and run into the end zone for the incredible score.
Jefferson has already made a ton of amazing plays since entering the NFL in 2020, but what he did on Sunday is something that is going to be shown forever when looking back at the career highlights of the star Vikings wide receiver.