In 31-23 win over Texans, Jefferson shows he's made the Vikings a different team

With Jefferson starring, Vikings' offense steamrolls Texans and bails out defense

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It looked like it was going to happen again.

The Vikings were on the brink of blowing a lead to the Houston Texans on Sunday but rookie Justin Jefferson refused to let the Vikings’ lead slip away.

Gary Kubiak’s offense got its playmaker going early. On the second possession they opened with Jefferson grabbing a 29-yard pass from Kirk Cousins and then it was all Dalvin Cook. The Vikings ran a swing pass to Cook (which was officially scored as a run) for 11 yards and then pounded away with the star running back with three more runs including a 5-yard touchdown.

Houston, clearly committed to failing in the run game, continued to struggle and punted on their first three possessions. They racked up a total of 16 yards on their first three drives. But the Vikings didn’t carry over their dominance from the first drive and punted back to the Texans, who bumbled their way to a penalty and fumbled on the same punt return.

The Vikings decided not to be aggressive but still took advantage of the Houston miscue, kicking a field goal on fourth-and-3 to go up 10-0.

After Houston responded with a wonky field goal drive, the Vikings’ offense kicked into 2019 mode. Cousins again found Jefferson, this time for 26 yards to kickstart the drive. The Vikings finished the possession with four straight runs and ended up in the end zone with Cook shoving a Texans corner while he danced in for his second score.

DeShaun Watson finally completed a rocket pass to tight end Jordan Aikens for a 26-yard gain and the Texans were gifted another 15 yards when Harrison Smith led with the crown of his helmet to make the tackle. Smith was ejected from the game. Naturally the decision drew the ire of head coach Mike Zimmer but the FOX broadcast explained that the letter of the law justified the disqualification.

The Texans kicked a field goal and Watson finished the half just 6-for-15 for 79 yards. The Vikings led 17-6.

But Smith’s absence would be felt right away and so was the offense’s ability to carry them to wins. Watson got going, completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Will Fuller on a play in which Smith’s replacement George Iloka, just bumped up from the practice squad, seemed to confuse his assignment.

The Vikings missed a field goal and Fuller struck again with a 43-yard reception that set up a field goal to bring the Vikings within one.

At that point, it was time for the Vikings’ offense to decide whether they wanted to be the reason for the team’s first win of the season or cower like they did against the Titans in a similar situation last week.

Justin Jefferson decided for them.

On third-and-10, Cousins slightly underthrew a pass to Jefferson. The rookie Moss’d the Texans’ cornerback, reaching over him to snatch the ball for a 23-yard first down.

Cousins’s confidence seemed to get a jolt on that play because his very next throw turned into a contested catch by Kyle Rudolph, who has been rarely used by Cousins outside of the red zone over the last two years.

The cherry on top was a bullet from Cousins to Adam Thielen in the end zone to put the Vikings up 24-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

After a key third-down stop by the Vikings’ defense, the Vikings had a game-changing third down and again Cousins went to Jefferson, this time with a back-shoulder throw. Jefferson adjusted on the fly and grabbed it for a 25-yard gain.

Jefferson cleared 100 yards for the second straight game. The Vikings finished off the drive with an Alexander Mattison touchdown run to take a 31-16 lead.

As you might expect, Watson wasn’t finished picking on the Vikings’ battered secondary. He tossed another long touchdown to a wide open Kenny Stills when either Iloka or Holton Hill made a mental error and the Vikings’ lead was again cut to one score.

Strangely the Vikings failed to target Jefferson again on the next possession and the Texans nearly made them pay. A potential touchdown catch was overturned and the Vikings got their first victory of the season.

We might always wonder why Jefferson didn’t play more the first two weeks because of how much more explosive the offense is with him making dominant one-on-one plays. Maybe in a season in which they will need a miracle to get back into the playoff race, it doesn’t matter that the offense sputtered so much early on without Jefferson. Or maybe they would have been in the game against Indy with him as the starting X receiver.

Here’s what we know: In just two games, Jefferson has turned into the receiver Cousins trusts in big situations just as much as he did with Stefon Diggs last season. The Vikings couldn’t have asked for a better sign for Jefferson’s future and they couldn’t have asked for a better follow-up performance to his breakout game.

Does that mean the Vikings are back? Of course it doesn’t solidify that. They are still 1-3 and headed to Seattle to play a Super Bowl contending Seahawks team. But does it mean this season could have a lot of exciting Jefferson games and maybe get into the “In The Hunt” graphics if he continues to come up big at the biggest times? Maybe.

Many Vikings fans might not have wanted that last “maybe.” Many would have preferred the team to continue their struggles and lose at the end. But if you’re not going to end up tanking for Trevor, you might as well have your first-round pick in 2020 become an instant difference maker. That’s what has happened the last two weeks.

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