Justin Jefferson began Thursday Night Football with the recognition he had bumped up his Madden rating to a 99 overall, becoming the youngest two-time member of the 99 Club in Madden NFL history.
He followed the pregame presentation from Chad Ochocinco Johnson by continuing to move up the Vikings all-time receiving yardage leaderboard.
Jefferson passed Jake Reed and moved into fifth place in franchise history on his first catch of Minnesota's Week 8 game at the Los Angeles Rams. "Jets" fueled a fast start, gaining 10 yards on the first Vikings pass attempt of the game and quickly adding two 17-yard catches during Minnesota's first possession.
Jefferson finished the first half with six catches for 74 yards.
He entered the contest with 6,430 yards, having passed Sammy White (6,400) for sixth last week. He's also vaulted above Vikings Ring of Honor tight end Steve Jordan (6,307) this season.
The next player on the all-time receiving yardage leaderboard is Jefferson's former teammate Adam Thielen, who totaled 6,682 receiving yards in Purple.
After halftime, Jefferson turned in his top catch of the night, a 27-yarder that he pulled in with one hand, juggled for a moment before pinning it to his helmet and got both feet in bounds.
The improbable catch moved the ball to the Los Angeles 4-yard line. Minnesota hurried to the line just in case the Rams tried to challenge the play, and lost 4 yards on the ensuing run play, ultimately ending the drive with a short field goal. The reception made Jefferson the first Vikings player since 1994 to record at least one reception of 25-plus yards in each of his first seven games of a season.
Jefferson also recorded his 31st career game (out of 67 played) with at least 100 yards, breaking the record set by Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (30) for the most in an NFL player's first five seasons. It was his second such contest with triple digits this season, along with a 133-yard effort in Week 2 against San Francisco, and his sixth consecutive game with at least 81 receiving yards.
Jefferson entered the night with the third-most receiving yards through a players first five seasons, trailing Rams Legend Torry Holt (6,784) and Moss (6,743). He passed Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (6,364) last week.
Jefferson now has 433 career receptions for 6,545 yards.
