Justin Jefferson made NFL history during Thursday night’s game against the Eagles. Unfortunately for Jefferson, the history-making play was also a momentum-changing one that cost the Vikings points, and set up Philly to score before the half.
Trailing 10-7 with under a minute left in the first half, Jefferson caught a deep pass from Kirk Cousins before stretching out toward the pylon. Jefferson lost control of ball, however, and the result was a touchback and a turnover on downs as the ball rolled into the end zone. The turnover helped set up Jake Elliott’s 61-yard field goal to extend the home team’s lead to 13-7 at intermission. That potential 10-point swing proved to be extremely costly given that the Vikings were on the short end of a 34-28 final score.
On the play, Jefferson tied Hall of Fame receiver Lance Allworth for the fewest games needed to reach 5,000 career receiving yards. Both players reached that mark in their 52nd game. Jefferson also joined Hall of Famer and former Vikings great Randy Moss as the only players to reach 5,000 career receiving yards before their 25th birthday.
While Jefferson is in the record books, his team also made some unwanted history on Thursday night. Minnesota’s seven turnovers is the most by any NFL team after two games since the 2005 Vikings coughed the ball up a dozen times in their first two outings. Minnesota’s self-inflicted wounds is the biggest reason for its 0-2 start.
