Vikings Week 15 spotlight: Justin Jefferson

Grade (out of 10): 8

It was a dream matchup, of sorts, for Vikings receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen against a Bears defense that was down two starting cornerbacks in Buster Skrine and Jaylon Johnson. But only Jefferson – with eight catches for 104 yards on 11 targets – took advantage as he led the Vikings' passing attack in all three categories. Quarterback Kirk Cousins spread the ball around to seven different targets, minimizing the damage one person could do. But Jefferson still did plenty while backup Bears cornerbacks Duke Shelley and Kindle Vildor played increased roles.

Positive: Routes, hands and toes

Jefferson's all-round game remains incredibly impressive, as the 21-year-old rookie continued to dominate in varied situations. He flashed his vise-grip hands on a third-down pass thrown purposefully behind him with Bears safety Tashaun Gipson on a collision course over the middle. Jefferson's nine-yard grab moved the chains on a third-and-5 play, setting up the ensuing 20-yard, play-action touchdown toss to tight end Tyler Conklin. The score cut the Vikings' deficit to 30-27 in the fourth quarter. Jefferson consistently found open turf with smooth route running and ended with a tiptoe seven-yard sideline grab that was initially ruled out of bounds before being overturned.

Negative: Lost connections?

There isn't much to nitpick about Jefferson's game, other than to wonder how much meat was left on the bone as Cousins was under duress for much of the game. On a second-and-goal throw just before halftime, Cousins ran left to avoid pressure and threw too high for Jefferson, who seemed to want the pass earlier. Jefferson's frustrated reaction to the end-zone incompletion went viral on social media after he was overheard telling Cousins to throw the ball. "I ain't no diva," Jefferson posted on social media after the game, "so don't get it twisted." Tight end Irv Smith Jr. dropped a touchdown on the next play, and the Vikings settled for Dan Bailey's 24-yard field goal.

Extra Point: Moss' rookie record broken

Jefferson broke Randy Moss' rookie receptions record, which stood for 21 seasons before Jefferson's 70th catch — a 26-yard deep out route in which he head-faked Shelley to gain more than a handful of yards of separation. Moss had 69 catches for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns during his 1998 rookie season. Jefferson now has 73 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns with two to play after not starting the season's first two games.

Quotable

"Working inside on an under route and it got mashed. [So,] went to my left and was playing off schedule at that point. Was trying to find anybody I could and kind of tried to throw it high and safe to Justin, because the traffic patterns I wasn't sure where the defense was going. Put it in kind of an ours-or-nobody's spot, and it ended up being nobody's." — Quarterback Kirk Cousins on the second-and-goal incompletion before halftime.