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MINNEAPOLIS — Before the conclusion of the first quarter Sunday, Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson had already notched 100 yards receiving against Green Bay.
By the end of a wild back-and-forth game between NFC North rivals, the Vikings receiver had helped his team claw back to .500 for a second time this season in a dramatic 34-31 win.
Jefferson exploded against the Packers with eight catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns, following up on a Week 10 performance against the Los Angeles Chargers in which he caught nine passes for 143 yards. He now has 11 career 100-yard games, tying Randy Moss and Juju Smith-Schuster for the second most in a player’s first two seasons since the 1970 merger.
“I was telling them I’m not leaving today without getting in the end zone,” Jefferson said. “So, glad I got in there twice. I’ve been telling them to just throw it up to any one of us. We’re confident enough to make the catch, make a big play for the team, and I feel like we made a lot of those today.”
Jefferson didn’t reach the end zone until the second half Sunday but was responsible for setting up two early touchdowns. On his third catch of the game, he took a 56-yard reception down to the goal line and Dalvin Cook punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown on the next play to give the Vikings a 9-3 lead.
On Minnesota’s ensuing drive in the second quarter, Jefferson drew a 37-yard defensive pass interference penalty on a deep ball that moved the Vikings from their own 39-yard line to Green Bay’s 24-yard line. The Vikings caught another break three plays later when a Kirk Cousins interception was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty on a ball intended for Jefferson. Three plays after that, Adam Thielen found the end zone to put the Vikings up 16-3.
Jefferson’s first touchdown came in the third quarter with the receiver lined up in the backfield. He caught a 9-yard TD off an option route, a play Jefferson said he ran at LSU. This was his first career reception from out of…
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Source : espn
