MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Jefferson is currently arguably the best season for a single receiver in team history. Greg Joseph has the longest field goal of the franchise. And the team itself has performed better in close games than any other in NFL history.
Those are the historical steps of another horror movie related to the year 2022 Minnesota Vikings in what is a win 27-24 via New York Giants at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday. By the time it ends:
• Jefferson passed Randy moss‘ team record is 1,632 yards received. Jefferson also broke Cris CarterHis record 122 catches in a single season, totaling 123. With two games remaining, Jefferson is now 209 yards away from breaking the record. Calvin JohnsonNFL record of 1,964 yards received in a season.
• Joseph drilled the target at 61 yards to win without running out of time, beating the previous team’s record by 5 yards.
• The Vikings became the first NFL team to have 11 wins once in a season. Saturday’s game was the sixth the Vikings won this season by a scoreline in the last minute of the fourth inning or in extra time, also an NFL record, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“Although I don’t like it,” Jefferson said, “it’s normal at this point. We just go out there, play the game and do what we need to do to win.”
Indeed, the Vikings want to win the games in a less stressful way. But if nothing else, their high string action is now remembered in NFL history. Even though they’re on the NFL’s second-best record at 12-3, the Vikings haven’t won a game by more than a point since Week 1. That’s a notable change. compared to last season, when the same number of core players lost eight games by one point.
First-year head coach Kevin O’Connell focused on situational football starting with the first day of training camp, but even on Saturday he admitted he never thought it would be. That emphasis again played a role in many of his first-season victories as an NFL coach.
“Our players have the ability to play with a quiet mind,” said O’Connell, “and just understand the pitch and catch situation… [key] moment, and that’s a theme for our group. Now what we have to do is find a way to create that level of urgency and enforcement over the course of four quarters and we’ll see something really special with this team.”
“I have to get on the pitch first to make sure I push our team to understand that 12 wins is great,” he added. “We won each of those, sometimes right up to the last minute. Most of the time right up to the last minute. We’re still building something here that we can prepare for. suffer all the time [and] growing as a team, those are important and we have to take advantage of them.”
Jefferson broke Moss’ record in his second catch on Saturday, a 25-yard relay from the midfielder Kirk’s cousin in the first quarter. Jefferson finished the game 133 yards after 12 hits and a touch gave the Vikings a 24-16 lead with three minutes left. He currently has 1,756 yards received yards. Despite the advantage of a 17-game season, Jefferson broke Moss’s record of 15 games; Moss played 16 games to reach 1,632 in 2003.
“It’s an honor to be broken [Moss’] record and talk to him,” said Jefferson. “But he has [Pro Football Hall of Fame] Jacket. That’s what I want at the end of my career and I’m definitely still chasing him.”
Meanwhile, Joseph worked for this moment all season. His 56-yard goal in last Week 1 win Green Bay Packers set the team record, but then he went through a rough patch when he missed five consecutive kicks from 50 yards or more. He also missed out by 5 more points over a 6-match period, but he converted to 12 in a row after making a series of technical adjustments. Joseph hasn’t missed a goal since Week 8, after turning into 13 consecutive attempts.
“I had confidence and confidence in myself,” he said. “And I appreciate the trust and confidence that the coach had to get me out there.”
