In addressing Monday what looked to be visible frustration from star Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson during Sunday’s 27-19 loss to the Ravens, head coach Kevin O’Connell framed it as being upset about physical play and a lack of calls from officials.
“We’ve got competitors and sometimes that thing can present itself differently when you’re talking about this guy to the next guy, but I have no concerns with Justin,” O’Connell said.
Should we be more concerned about Jefferson? I’ll take a look at that question and other Minnesota sports trends in today’s 10 things to know:
- Jefferson is averaging career lows in almost every receiving category, including yards per game (76.2) and yards per target (8.2). He also has just two touchdown catches; he’s never finished a healthy season with fewer than seven. Particularly notable: In four games playing with young QB J.J. McCarthy, Jefferson has just 17 catches for 209 yards (average of 52 yards per game), though both of his TD grabs came from McCarthy.
- In five games with veteran Carson Wentz, Jefferson caught 34 passes for 477 yards (95 yards per game), which aligns much more closely with his career averages. Jefferson has never had to play for an extended stretch with a young quarterback before this season, spending the bulk of his first four years with Kirk Cousins and all of 2024 with Sam Darnold.
- Jefferson showed frustration at a McCarthy overthrow Sunday and didn’t hustle after an interception. I’ve had multiple emailers suggest Jefferson is “checked out,” but I think we’re a long way from there. He had a bad game Sunday, as did many of his teammates. He and McCarthy aren’t synced up right now, which is troubling but not unexpected given Jefferson’s training-camp injury, McCarthy’s in-season injury and McCarthy’s age. Jefferson is only 26 and still elite. But the connection between the two and Jefferson’s body language over the final eight games of the year are squarely in focus as things to watch as the sample size grows.
- McCarthy is 0-2 at home and 2-0 on the road. He’s also 2-0 against the NFC North and 0-2 against other teams. One trend has to change Sunday when the Vikings host the Bears. La Velle E. Neal III and I graded McCarthy’s performance so far and tried to make sense of the division on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
- Speaking of the NFC North and trends, the Packers are 5-3-1 and all three losses came despite allowing 16 points or fewer. We’re not used to Green Bay’s offense holding back progress, but that is the trend so far this year.
- Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels is averaging 18.4 points per game this season, close to double his career average. While he won’t continue to shoot 53.8% from three-point range, his offensive evolution feels more like a trend than a mirage. I’ll talk more about that on Thursday’s podcast with Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
- The Wild lost in overtime (again) to San Jose on Tuesday, but overall they’ve earned points in five of their past six games and seem to have shaken their early-season funk. One interesting stat to keep an eye on: They’re 3-0-2 in Jesper Wallstedt’s starts and 4-7-2 in Filip Gustavsson’s starts. While Gustavsson has seen more work and generally tougher opponents, could we be headed for more of a time-share in net?
- The Gophers women’s basketball has opened the season with three extremely lopsided wins. Tuesday’s 90-47 victory over Marquette — a good Big East team last season and expected to be one this season — adds fuel to the “this team is good” sentiment.
- The Twins stole a lot of bases at the end of a disappointing 2025 season. That figures to be a trend that continues in 2026, particularly after the hiring of Grady Sizemore.
- If the Loons’ thrilling win over Seattle ignited a passion for the MLS playoffs, just know that you now have to wait ... 12 more days ... to watch Minnesota United play again ... at 9 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 24, in San Diego.
