The Minnesota Vikings knew they were always in for an uphill struggle in Week 13 against the 9-3 Seattle Seahawks, who have won six of their past seven games and are shaping up to be one of the leading contenders in a sneakily competitive NFC conference.
Especially considering that starting quarterback, JJ McCarthy, was unable to play and was replaced as starter for this week’s game by undrafted rookie, Max Brosmer, who was making his first ever NFL start.
But even the biggest pessimist would have been unlikely to foresee the Vikings being shut out to the tune of 26-0, with Brosmer throwing for just 126 yards, 0 touchdowns and a whopping 4 interceptions.
Justin Jefferson Was Not Happy After Shut-Out Loss
Post-game, former Offensive Player of the Year and All-Pro wideout, Justin Jefferson, made a very noticeable decision after the team’s worst offensive performance of the season – and perhaps in the totality of head coach, Kevin O’Connell’s tenure.
Alec Lewis of The Athletic reported that, “Justin Jefferson left the locker room after the Vikings loss today without talking to reporters.”
After clarifying the reason behind it afterwards, Lewis confirmed, “The Vikings say Justin Jefferson declined to speak. First time that’s happened since I arrived in 2022.”
Jefferson did not a catch a single ball in the first half of the game, for the first time since Week 17 of 2022.
And the second half did not get much better for Jefferson – or indeed Minnesota as a team; the four-time All-Pro managed two catches off of six targets for a total of just 4 receiving yards on the entire game, his lowest total ever in an NFL game.
What Does This Mean For Jefferson’s Future In Minnesota?
Jefferson has not had his best season to-date in 2025, despite having played in all 12 games so far.
Hi numbers this season have been far from appalling: he has 799 receiving yards, good for 11th in the league, although he does only have two touchdowns to his name on the year.
Yet for a player who is consistently used to being one of the top 3 wideouts in football and being a perennial All-Pro candidate, this is not the standard.
Most frustratingly for Jefferson will be the fact that his decrease in production is less a product of his own form and more of that of his very sub-par quarterback play over the course of the entire year, perhaps save from some remarkably solid Carson Wentz games in the first third of the year.
McCarthy has certainly struggled – although far less than Brosmer in his highly difficult debut – and many expect him to get better. But if he cannot show legitimate improvement over the last five games of the season, it would not be surprising to see more and more players – especially on the offense – lose patience with him.
Jefferson may well have his eyes set on not only a Super Bowl ring, but a Hall of Fame jacket. And he knows that if things are not set at the most important position on the pitch, that will have a vast effect not only on his contribution to the team, but his overall legacy.
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