Film Study: Breaking down all 10 Justin Jefferson catches
Jefferson had his biggest game of the year in the Vikings' biggest game
By Matthew Coller
The Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have asked for a better performance from their top player on the big stage in Seattle as they continued their chase for the NFC. With Jefferson catching a season-high 10 passes, let’s have a look at each one on the All-22 tape to see why he was so successful vs. the Seahawks.
8:06, First Quarter: Third-and-3, ball on the Seahawks 10-yard line
Looking to produce a touchdown on their opening drive, the Vikings lined up in a bunch formation to Sam Darnold’s right. The pre-snap motion gives Darnold an indicator that the Seahawks are going to be playing in zone coverage because nobody travels with Jefferson as he motions. When the three receivers release, Jalen Nailor goes deep to the back pylon and Jordan Addison runs a quick out. Addison’s route pulls the cornerback toward the sideline, creating space for Jefferson to sit down in the hole. The linebacker is concerned with Jefferson running to the end zone and drifts back toward the goal line. Jefferson and Darnold are on the same page with the read, first down.
We see that Darnold might have been able to take a shot to Nailor in the back of the end zone because he was one-on-one but Darnold has been making safter decisions in recent weeks, which has contributed to his success.
4:57, First Quarter: First-and-10, Minnesota 23-yard line
There was a trend throughout the afternoon of Jefferson taking what the defense was giving him. After back-to-back Aaron Jones runs, the Vikings were trying to get a drive going on first down. The Seahawks play off coverage with the safety nearly 20 yards off the line of scrimmage. Jefferson runs a quick slant for a wide open reception. The only thing Darnold needed to be concerned with here was the nickel corner breaking underneath Jefferson’s route but once Nailor’s route held him in place, it was an easy pitch and catch.
In recent weeks the Vikings have appeared much more willing to dial up easy underneath passes to Jefferson to make sure he’s not taken out of the action.
9:10, Second Quarter: Second-and-8, 50-yard line
Jefferson’s next catch played a significant role in the Vikings scoring a touchdown. WR1 lines up to the field side outside of the numbers with Addison in the slot. Addison gets vertical with an outside release, which means the outside corner has to pick him up and the safety has eyes on him. You can see the safety take a step back expecting Addison to look for a shot play and start to move away from the middle of the field. With two defenders occupied on Addison, Jefferson works behind the nickel defender who was dropping back into the flat. The middle linebacker is occupied by TJ Hockenson, giving JJ space to make a 19-yard reception.
Throughout the season we have seen many teams dedicate a top corner playing press-man coverage against Jefferson and an additional help safety. What happens when opponents don’t do that? This.
5:50, Second Quarter: Third-and-3, Seattle 14-yard line
Jefferson’s first touchdown of the day is up next. This play is very straight forward. Darnold sends Nailor in motion and the nickel DB follows him, meaning it’s man coverage. Jefferson vs. man is an easy decision for Darnold: Just give him a chance. Darnold leads him perfectly into the back of the end zone, bang, touchdown.
Why did the Seahawks leave Jefferson alone in the red zone? No idea. Even if they hadn’t, Addison was going to be open underneath on the quick out route.
4:16, Second Quarter: Third-and-20, Seattle 41-yard line
On third-and-forever, the Vikings put Jefferson on the short side of the field alone with three receivers to the wide side. Seattle presses Jefferson and drops into deep zones trying to avoid giving up the big play. Jefferson creates separation by shrugging off the DB out of the break with his hands and gains nine yards.
This turned out to be a huge play in the game because it moved Will Reichard into field goal position on a drizzling day. It’s not clear that he would have been able to try a field goal from 60+ yards. Spoiler: The Vikings ended up winning by three.
10:09, Third Quarter: First-and-10, Minnesota 35
To kick off a response drive following a Seattle field goal, Darnold finds Jefferson for five yards to get things going. This time the Seahawks do a good job in coverage initially. Darnold looks to Jefferson first on a quick in-breaking route but he gets held up off the line, so the quarterback works to the other side of the field. He doesn’t see any favorable options there and started to roll out of the pocket. Aware that his QB was going off schedule, Jefferson snapped back outside for an easy catch.
Not all plays that display awareness and chemistry result in massive touchdowns. Sometimes it’s a subtle understanding of where the space is and the momentum of the defensive back, as Jefferson did there.
8:24, Third Quarter: Third-and-6, Minnesota 39-yard line
Two things happen on this Jefferson key first-down reception: 1) Jefferson shows that he’s open even when he’s not open 2) Darnold throws with fantastic anticipation. Jefferson is barely starting his break when Darnold starts to pull the trigger and he puts the ball into an area where Jefferson has the best chance to come back to it. Still, No. 18 has to physically fight off the corner to make the grab.
This was another big play because it led to another Reichard field goal. Darnold has the Vikings largely clicking on third down at over 40% (11th in the NFL). He has a 94.0 rating on third down, where throwing into tough windows with anticipation is often required.
3:39, Third Quarter: First-and-10, Minnesota 26-yard line
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Purple Insider to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.