Justin Jefferson Talks Vikings' Playoff Chase, Nick Mullens and More in B/R Interview (2024)

Even the most optimistic Minnesota Vikings fans would have thought the playoffs were a long shot if they knew in Week 1 that Kirk Cousins would eventually be lost for the season and Justin Jefferson would miss significant time because of injuries.

But everything is still on the table for a 7-7 team that is holding onto one of the NFC's wild-card spots and facing a closing stretch of three divisional games against the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

And the Vikings are ready to take advantage of the opportunity with Jefferson back in the lineup.

"We have the most confidence," the star wide receiver told Bleacher Report. "This is that stretch for us. It's now or never. We have to put away all of the turmoil that we had earlier in the season. The quarterback change, the injuries, we need to put all of that to the side. We just need to focus in as a group and lean on each other and have that confidence in one another to make sure every person is doing their job.

"These upcoming three games are big for us, it's going to be the outcome of our season. We're going to see if we attack it full steam and make it to the playoffs. Hopefully we do that."

The playoffs were not only the goal, they were the expectation coming into the season.

After all, Minnesota was coming off a campaign that saw it win the NFC North at 13-4. It also had the 2022 Offensive Player of the Year in Jefferson who was coming off a third straight Pro Bowl season with 128 catches for 1,809 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fantasy football managers jumped at the chance to select him with the first pick, and he seemed primed for yet another incredible season.

However, Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury during the Oct. 8 game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He missed the next seven contests and then went through another setback when he was hospitalized as a precaution when he suffered a chest injury in his return game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 10.

To his credit, he returned for Saturday's contest against the Cincinnati Bengals and finished with seven catches for 84 yards in the 27-24 overtime defeat.

"It felt great just to be back out there on the field playing a full game and to be out there with my teammates and seeing the excitement they had for me to be competing with them," he said. "Sadly we got the loss, but it was definitely a great feeling being back out there on the field."

Jefferson said he's ready to go for the rest of the year as the No. 1 option for Nick Mullens.

That Mullens is under center is a testament to the roller-coaster season in Minnesota, as Cousins suffered a torn Achilles in a Week 8 win over the Packers. Backup Jaren Hall suffered a concussion in his first start in the next game, which forced Joshua Dobbs into action just days after the Vikings traded for him.

Dobbs worked some magic in wins over the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints and quickly became a fan favorite with the nickname The Passtronaut. However, he threw four interceptions in a loss to the Chicago Bears and was benched for Mullens against the Las Vegas Raiders when the game was tied at zero in the fourth quarter.

Mullens directed a game-winning field goal drive against Las Vegas and then threw for 303 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the loss to the Bengals in a performance that secured his spot as the starter moving forward.

"Nick played a tremendous game," Jefferson said. "He was out there calling great plays and making great throws and making the proper checks. We definitely have confidence in him, just like I said before the game.

"We always have that confidence in whoever is out there on that field just because of the preparation we have throughout the week and the confidence we give the quarterback as a skill group. We have to go out there and make sure that he has that confidence and that he's comfortable to go out there and make some big plays. As a skill group, we have to try to make it as easy as possible."

The hope in Minnesota is that skill position group leads the team all the way to Super Bowl LVIII, where some lucky fans who participated in the Little Caesars Pizza!Pizza! Postgame Pregame campaign could be in attendance.

Jefferson partnered with Little Caesars for the campaign, which gives any fans who order online during NFL game days the opportunity to win prizes that include regular-season tickets, gift cards to the league's official shop and free products such as pepperoni pizza and Pepsi. What's more, anyone who participates is entered into the grand prize sweepstakes for a trip to the Super Bowl.

"The Little Caesars commercial and teaming up with them and Pepsi, the whole thing, has been fantastic," Jefferson said. "It's been an amazing experience. I'm excited to see what we have in the near future."

He also said his go-to order is the meat lovers pizza, adding he "can't have the pizza without the Pepsi and can't have the Pepsi without the pizza."

It is the perfect pairing, just like he and Jordan Addison have the chance to be for the Vikings at the end of the season.

While Jefferson is the established star, Minnesota added wide receiver depth when it selected Addison out of USC with a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He was expected to be a key contributor right away but became far more important when Jefferson was sidelined by his hamstring injury and now has 62 catches for 824 yards and nine touchdowns in 14 games.

"I try to work with him as much as possible," Jefferson said of the rookie. "Whatever question he has for me on and off the field, I try to be that person for him. I feel like he's been stepping in that role ever since I went down and being the main star of the team and the main one being targeted and having the coverages roll to you. I told him 'Now you got a little taste of how I felt for the past two years now.'

"It's been great to work with him, he's a tremendous receiver with the way he moves, the way he runs routes and the way he catches the ball. It's definitely great to see that from a young receiver."

Now that Jefferson is back and drawing attention, Addison figures to see single coverage and plenty of openings. That was on full display when he posted six catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns against the Bengals and will need to be in the next three contests against the Lions and Packers.

If it is, the one-two punch of wide receivers can lead the Vikings into the playoffs.