In three seasons at LSU, Justin Jefferson was on the losing side just seven times, and not once during the Tigers’ national championship run in 2019. Early in his second season with the Vikings, they’ve already lost 12 times.
It’s not sitting well with the young wide receiver.
“It’s hard,” he said after Sunday’s 14-7 loss to Cleveland at U.S. Bank Stadium. “I’m used to winning. I’m used to just being on that hot streak, being one of the best teams.”
The Vikings finished 7-9 last season when Jefferson was a rookie. They’re off to a 1-3 start for the second straight year.
Jefferson is doing what he can. He led the Vikings on Sunday with six catches for 84 yards, scoring their only touchdown on a 12-yard reception in the first quarter.
But the defeats have been agonizing. The Vikings lost 27-24 in Week 1 at Cincinnati after running back Dalvin Cook lost a fumble late in overtime and 34-33 at Arizona in Week 2 when Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal on the final play. And the Vikings had their chances against the Browns.
“Every loss that we’ve had so far, it’s been on ourselves,” Jefferson said. “We’ve been killing ourselves, shooting ourselves in the foot. We’ve just got to finish throughout the whole game. This team is very good, and we’ve just got to play through all four quarters.”
The most frustrating play involving Jefferson on Sunday came with the Vikings facing third-and-12 at their 27 with six minutes left in the third quarter and trailing 11-7. Cousins threw a pass down the left side to Jefferson, who hauled it for a 37-yard gain to the Browns 36.
Not so fast. Tight end Tyler Conklin was called for holding Cleveland star defensive end Myles Garrett.
“I didn’t know until I got to the sidelines,” Jefferson said. “It’s just how it is. Definitely would have liked to get that one back.”
Jefferson started the game in fine fashion, catching three passes for 32 yards on the opening drive, when Minnesota went 75 yards and took a 7-0 lead on Jefferson’s third touchdown of the season.
“I think they were playing a little zone coverage,” Jefferson said of the touchdown. “I had a little corner stop route, and sat right in the hole, and it was a great throw by Kirk.”
Minnesota didn’t score another point the rest of the game. The Vikings couldn’t get their running game going with Cook still slowed after sitting out last week’s game against Seattle with an ankle injury. After shutting down the run, the Browns were able to pressure Cousins and pay even closer attention to Jefferson.
“We just didn’t execute the way we wanted to,” Jefferson said. “The plays were called, and we just didn’t get downfield and make those big plays.”
Still, the Browns couldn’t put the game away, and the Vikings had several chances in the fourth quarter to come back.
Trailing 14-7, Jefferson caught a 31-yard pass to the Browns 40 with 2:09 left, but the Vikings soon turned the ball over on downs. With 21 seconds left, a deep throw to Jefferson down the right side from the Cleveland 49 was overthrown. And the clock soon ran out with the Vikings at the Browns 26.
“We just tried to keep fighting until the last second on the clock,” Jefferson said. “We’re definitely frustrated that we couldn’t get that touchdown at the end of the game to tie the game up. But there’s so many opportunities that we had throughout the game that we just didn’t connect on on offense. We just have to be better.”
The Link LonkOctober 04, 2021 at 06:59AM
https://www.twincities.com/2021/10/03/vikings-justin-jefferson-starting-to-learn-something-about-losing-its-hard/
Vikings’ Justin Jefferson starting to learn something about losing: ‘It’s hard’ - TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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