The Vikings’ Loss To The Giants Was Caused By Justin Jefferson’s Absence

The NFL’s leading receiver and MVP buzz Justin Jefferson, will not be leading the Minnesota Vikings in the 2023 playoffs. 

The Vikings lost a one-score game to the New York Giants in their wildcard round. On Sunday, the no. 3 seed, the Vikings, lost to the no. 6 seed, the Giants, 31-24. The head coach, Kevin O’Connell, performed well by leading Minnesota to a 13-4 record, but the playoff failure occurred because Jefferson was not involved enough in the game.

Jefferson was limited to seven catches for 47 yards on nine targets, which became a major part of the Giants’ loss.

What Exactly Happened?

Initially, the Vikings were doing well. Kirk completed the first pass of the game to Jefferson for 10 yards. Later, Jefferson caught three passes. He was surely performing great, but in the second half, he was targeted only four times.

Jefferson was not even targeted once in the fourth quarter. Due to this, the Vikings entered 24-21 and looked forward to a tie game. The Vikings, in the presence of Jefferson, had a record of 9-2. They were expecting a tie score. Eventually, they couldn’t score, and Jefferson was not seen in the game plan.

Jefferson was not given Kupp’s treatment to be a part of key situations in the game. Cooper Kupp earned great success last year and won Super Bowl 56. Jefferson will not be as impactful as him, but he was a great success for the team.

He missed a chance to be a part of the biggest play. This is going to haunt the team in the off-season.

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