Thursday marked the three-year anniversary of one of the best moments of Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson’s career.
On Nov. 13, 2022, the Vikings were trailing the Bills 27–23 in the final two minutes of the game. Facing fourth-and-18 from his own 27-yard line, then-Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw the ball to Jefferson down the field, and the star receiver stretched out to make a spectacular one-handed catch and gain a pivotal first down. The game went into the overtime, and the Vikings won 33–30. Jefferson finished the day with 193 yards and a touchdown.
3 years later & this @JJettas2 catch is still crazy 😳 pic.twitter.com/l9Mqj7tF66
— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2025
Jefferson shared a video of that highlight on Instagram and wrote, “I need to get back to year3 Jets.”
#Vikings WR Justin Jefferson via IG:
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 13, 2025
“I need to get back to year3 Jets.” pic.twitter.com/ZphGoM6M86
Jefferson later clarified the post while speaking to reporters on Thursday. “The big plays, of course that year I had Offensive Player of the Year, just different moments in that season I felt like I was on a different level,” he said. “Just trying to work back into that, the feeling of being out there on Sundays and killing it, whoever’s in front of me. Having that mentality back, and being back to my old self.”
Jefferson is coming off a lackluster performance in Minnesota’s loss to the Ravens on Sunday, when he caught just four of 12 targets for 37 yards. During that loss, he was unable to haul in a touchdown pass he normally would, and was called out for not hustling after a defender intercepted a pass from J.J. McCarthy.
Jefferson clarified, “I'm not really mad at the situation that I'm in or I'm not mad at the players that we have or the plays that's being called. Of course I'm mad after an interception. You want me to be happy and go chase 'em down? That's not really something that I want to happen. ... Emotionally, things get heated sometimes and things weren’t going our way at that moment.”
Seeing the anniversary of that highlight from 2022 wasn’t just a moment of nostalgia for the star receiver, but a reminder that he is playing far from the best football of his career.
Jefferson’s third season was the best of what’s been a stellar young career for the four-time Pro Bowl wideout. That year, Jefferson recorded a career-high 1,809 receiving yards and was named Offensive Player of the Year.
Comparatively, through the first nine games of the 2025 season, Jefferson has caught 51 passes for a respectable 686 yards and two touchdowns. While his receiving yards rank eighth in the NFL and he is on pace for his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season, this is the lowest production he’s had through nine games in any season of his career. Jefferson’s current numbers might be good, but they don’t meet the standard of excellence he set through the first five years of his career.
Here’s a look at how Jefferson’s numbers through the first nine games this year compare to previous seasons:
Jefferson acknowledged that he is double-teamed more frequently now than he was during that 2022 season, but he still wants to return to his “savage” mode. He believes the offense should be playing better, and they will have a great opportunity to do so this week as they face the Bears, who allow the fifth-most points per game this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Justin Jefferson Explains 'Year 3' Social Media Post Amid Vikings' Struggles.
