Justin Jefferson wills Vikings past Browns: ‘We couldn’t go home on that plane 0-2’ in Europe

LONDON — So you think you want to play two NFL games in Europe? Fun idea! What a cool opportunity to be the first team to do it in two different countries in consecutive weeks. That is, until you lose the first leg and are stuck far from central London in the English countryside.

Publicly, the Vikings didn’t complain. They signed up to do this. It was a business opportunity. It was also a chance to play two road games in a more favorable environment.

But the team’s decision-makers knew the importance of the undertaking, and they did their best to create a sense of normalcy. Chicken-wing food trucks served meals at the Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club. Players spent nights together on the putting green and in the golf simulator. They had fun, but they were still untethered from family members, a familiar bed and their routine.

By the time the Vikings arrived at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, they were ready to go home. They just needed one final souvenir: a win.

“A dub was a must,” said superstar receiver Justin Jefferson. “We couldn’t go home on that plane 0-2.”

Fortunately, they won’t. The Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns 21-17 on Sunday because they had, among other things, an almost stubborn level of will.

It’s one thing for a player to have it, but it’s another thing entirely for that player to ensure others do, too. Jefferson, in particular, left nothing to chance.

Acrobatic catches are one thing. Jefferson was leaping, spinning and snatching the ball out of the air in traffic. He was also whipping his head around and snagging back-shoulder throws against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, Denzel Ward. All told, he caught seven passes for 123 yards.

But it’s more than that. Jefferson maintained his composure on a sideline ripe for combustion with the lack of rhythm and the seemingly endless stream of distress. He also spoke privately to his younger receiving counterpart, Jordan Addison, who didn’t play the first quarter as a result of a coach’s decision.

“I’m old enough to remember when he had a (hamstring) injury that knocked him out of nearly all of training camp,” coach Kevin O’Connell said of Jefferson. “He was still one of our most dynamic leaders on the field. You felt him. It’s his ability to rise to the moment.”

A special talent.

A special leader.

A special person.@JJettas2 pic.twitter.com/g0ADOntxom

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) October 5, 2025

Adversity is a term that is frequently used, especially among NFL coaches and players. But the Vikings (3-2) were navigating a stronger headwind than most, and the Addison situation was only one piece of the puzzle.

First and foremost, the team entered the game with an offensive line made of spare parts. Joe Huber, an undrafted rookie who had only played in two NFL games, started at left guard for the injured Donovan Jackson. Blake Brandel, a veteran who had never played a game at center, received the starting nod there in place of the injured Ryan Kelly. And Justin Skule, who spent the first couple of weeks as a backup left tackle, shifted over to right tackle to replace the injured Brian O’Neill. During the game, left tackle Christian Darrisaw exited — as planned — because he said he’s still monitoring his snaps as he returns from a torn ACL. So, Skule shifted back over to left tackle, and third-stringer Walter Rouse stepped into that spot.

“And Justin Skule is now in there going against the best defensive end in the world (Myles Garrett),” quarterback Carson Wentz said. “Those things are not easy to do.”

In the fourth quarter, Darrisaw, O’Neill, Kelly and injured quarterback J.J. McCarthy were all standing shoulder to shoulder watching the replacement group battle a Browns front deemed by many to be one of the league’s best. The image captured the early-season carnage.

Wentz himself was hobbled. He couldn’t play golf on Tuesday with teammates because of the pounding he took last Sunday against the Steelers. In practice this week, he lobbed passes and tugged at his ribs. Jefferson described him as “a soldier,” an apt tag when Wentz moseyed over to the blue medical tent in the second quarter. This time, he had dinged his left shoulder. Even he admitted that when he trotted up the tunnel for a more detailed evaluation, he was unsure whether he’d be back.

Potential excuses were everywhere. O’Connell spoke to the team this week about that subject. “If you look for them,” he said, “you’ll find them. So, don’t look.” Coaches, players and staffers did their best to limit the cabin-fever feeling of the trip, but they could only do so much.

The week was almost like a confined summer camp, but with fewer outlets to feel free. Car rides to the city took 90 minutes each way, and if you wanted to take the train, you had to make multiple line changes. O’Connell joked in his weekly Friday press conference: “Two sleeps left … (but) who’s counting?”

“Listen, it was tough,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “You’re not eating what you normally eat. You’re not getting the recovery you normally get. You’re not seeing people you normally see.”

The Vikings also knew what was looming after the bye week with games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Lose overseas to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Browns, and the contention climb would become much steeper. All of this factored into the feeling that Sunday’s game was one Minnesota had to have.

Addison’s absence in the first quarter added to the angst. O’Connell said that Addison had missed a walk-through, and “those types of things aren’t in alignment with our standards. I wanted to make sure he was held accountable for that.” Addison, who began the season serving a three-game suspension for an off-field incident last summer, spoke to the team.

Perhaps the most telling comment on the situation came from Jefferson.

“I definitely had my words with JA,” he said. “It’s just all about growing up and being a part of the team and knowing the stakes. … I’ve just got to do better keeping him under my wing and making sure he has his head on straight.”

It was as if Jefferson’s expression of will began there, long before the Vikings were rudderless and trailing the Browns 17-14. Defensively, they’d had trouble limiting running back Quinshon Judkins. Offensively, two fumbles — one apiece by running backs Jordan Mason and Zavier Scott — ruined any momentum. Still, in a league where sideline blowups have almost become customary, Jefferson rocked back and forth on the metal bench the way he always does. He trusted that O’Connell would scheme him open, and that Wentz would eventually find him.

Jefferson’s first contortion act came on a third-and-10 early in the fourth quarter. Kicker Will Reichard couldn’t capitalize on the heroics. He missed a 51-yard field goal that appeared to hit a camera wire. Next, Jefferson created space between him and Ward down the right sideline. The 21-yard completion led to the go-ahead score, a gusty throw from Wentz to Addison, who had recognized the Browns’ coverage and found space.

The sideline erupted with fist-bumps, hugs and helmet pats. Everything pent up from this trip abroad came pouring out.

After the game, the first question to Jefferson was a recitation of yet another record. He has tallied 36 games of 100 receiving yards or more. Jefferson acknowledged the feat but said he’d be OK with sub-100-yard performances the rest of his career as long as his team wins.

It was the type of comment that makes a team’s fortitude in a comeback like this make sense. It was the type of comment that speaks to why these Vikings are boarding a plane back home with hope for what’s possible rather than disgust over what they’ve endured.

(Photo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)