Justin Jefferson experienced a championship run with the LSU Tigers in 2019. The star Vikings receiver sees parallels with that legendary club and Minnesota's run this year.
"Oh for sure," he said, via ESPN. "Not just what we're doing out there on the field, but the way we carry ourselves, the way we treat each other. ... In 2019, when I won a championship at LSU, it was the same type of vibe. The team is just together, fighting for one another every single game. It definitely feels the same."
The Vikings continue to overcome adversity, winning close games in every way imaginable. Sunday, it was a 27-24 comeback win in rain-spitting Seattle's boisterous bowl.
"We're coming together," Jefferson said. "Every single game, we're finding different ways to overcome adversity. These close games are what make championship teams."
The Vikings are 8-1 in one-possession games in 2024 (only the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, 11-0, are better). Week 16 was their fifth game decided by three or fewer points (4-1 in those games).
Seattle took a 24-20 lead with just over four minutes remaining on Sunday. On the road in a noisy environment, it was a circumstance where other teams might have taken the L. Not this Vikings squad.
With 3:58 remaining, Sam Darnold play-faked and immediately whipped his head around to spy Jefferson streaking down the sideline. The quarterback confidently climbed the pocket and uncorked a one-footed laser while getting hit to his stud wideout for a 39-yard touchdown.
"Absolutely the play of the game," coach Kevin O'Connell said, "and maybe even, considering the moment and the circumstances, the season as well."
These Vikings won't die.
"There wasn't really one guy -- and I know I'm not speaking just for myself -- (who didn't think) we're going to go down and we're going to get a touchdown," O'Connell added. "And I think the level of confidence that that group has in their quarterback and the level of confidence the quarterback has in the 10 guys in the huddle is significant. And that's how you're able to go do that in that moment on the road at this place where you can't hear yourself think."
The win proved once again that in Darnold, Minnesota has a quarterback with the swagger and confidence to make plays in the crucible of the big moments.
Minnesota's eight-game winning streak is the club's longest since 2017. The Vikings moved to 13-2, the second time in club history it's started with 13-plus wins or better (14-1 in 1998).
O'Connell's club enters Week 17 tied with the Lions at 13-2 but in second place due to Detroit having the head-to-head tiebreaker (Lions won 31-29 in Week 7). The NFC North clubs will be the first teams in NFL history to enter Week 17 with 13-plus wins and not have the outright lead in their division.
With two games to go for Minnesota -- vs. Green Bay, at Detroit -- a No. 1 seed is there for the taking by winning out.
"I'm not going to get into what we're capable of," Darnold said. "We know exactly what kind of team we have and we know exactly the kind of guys we have in that locker room."
Some of those guys, like Jefferson, are the championship type.
