Vikings' Justin Jefferson happy to play a full game, laments another close loss

CINCINNATI — Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson suited up against the Bengals on Saturday despite being listed as questionable because of the chest injury suffered against the Raiders last Sunday.

He caught 7 of 10 targets for 84 yards in his first complete game since the Oct. 1 win in Carolina. Jefferson had left his two most recent games — Dec. 10 in Las Vegas and Oct. 8 against Kansas City — with injuries.

"Felt great to play a full game again, felt great to be out there with my teammates making plays," he said. "It's definitely been a long time coming."

He has 5,507 career receiving yards, just six short of the NFL record for the most receiving yards by a player in his first four seasons, held by Michael Thomas.

But Jefferson's career as an NFL passer took a hit. He is now 4 of 7 for 69 yards (and four first downs) after a trick play failed in the second quarter. He took a handoff and tried to find receiver K.J. Osborn, who was open deep, but pressure affected the throw.

"We feel like every time we lose it's self-inflicted," Jefferson said after the loss. "It's not something we're getting physically out-beat on, so we just need to fix the few things we need to fix on offense, defense, and special teams, come back next week with a divisional game at home."

Jordan Addison was the Vikings' leading receiver on the day, catching all six targets for 111 yards and two touchdowns, marking the rookie's first multi-touchdown NFL game. It was his second career 100-yard game, and he has nine touchdowns, the most among rookies.

"We moved the ball down the field a lot," Addison said. "We've just got to be consistent."