Justin Jefferson tries to recapture his 2022 form

Three years ago today, Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson made the catch of his life in a f—kin’ nutty upset of the Bills. He used the anniversary of that unforgettable moment to commit to rediscovering the magic of 2022.

Via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, Jefferson told reporters that he’s “trying to work back” to that level. Jefferson calls it “savage mode,” complete with an “F-it mentality.”

“Just going out there and just killing it, and not worrying about the plays, not worrying about anything else,” Jefferson said.

He was asked how and why he’s gotten away from that mindset. His short answer: “Life.”

Here’s the longer explanation.

“Just different things going on in my life and just wanting to get back to that kid phase of loving it,” Jefferson said. “I still love football, but overly loving football and overly loving just being out there on Sundays and making the big plays and just being a part of this great organization. So, just wanting to get back mentally into that mode.”

It’s easy to overly love football when football is going well. It was in 2022. And it was in 2024. This year, the Vikings are 4-5 and teetering. They face critical games over the next two weekends against the Bears and Packers. Lose both, and it’s likely lights out on the 2025 season, the sixth of Jefferson’s carrer.

Jefferson also addressed his apparent lack of effort to make a tackle after an interception on a deep ball thrown his way in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens.

“I want to win,” Jefferson said. “I’m not really mad at the situation that I’m in or I’m not mad at the players that we have or the plays that’s 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.”

He wants wins to happen. Too often this year, the Vikings are not.

“Of course, the outcome of the game is us losing, and I was the one that’s getting thrown that ball and it is getting picked off,” Jefferson said. “So, a lot of emotion goes towards that. But at the end of the day, I want to win, and I’m an ultra-competitor, and a lot of people that don’t play this game and don’t play sports don’t understand the competitive side of it. So yeah, I want to win, and emotionally, things get heated sometimes and 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.”

So why aren’t they? If the Vikings knew how to quickly fix it, they would. The reality is that they opted not to keep guys like Sam Darnold (who’s team is 7-2) and Daniel Jones (who’s team is 8-2) in order to develop J.J. McCarthy. And there are growing pains, literally and figuratively.

Jefferson nevertheless vouched for McCarthy on Thursday, calling him a “a great player,” “a great quarterback, and “a great kid.” All that may be true, but Jefferson is currently looking for someone who is and will be one thing and one thing only.

A winner.

On Sunday, McCarthy gets his fifth chance to prove that he’s on the right track to becoming that.

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