Turnovers were a killer for the Vikings in Philadelphia on Thursday night and one by wide receiver Justin Jefferson was particularly painful.
Jefferson lost control of the ball while reaching for the end zone at the end of a 30-yard reception in the second quarter and the Eagles took over at their own 20-yard-line after the ball went out of bounds in the end zone. The Eagles were up 10-7 at that point and they would stretch that lead to 27-7 before the Vikings found a way to turn it into a close game in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson was part of that effort and he finished the night with 11 catches for 159 yards, but the fumble outweighed any positives when he spoke to reporters after the game.
“I’m putting it a lot on myself,” Jefferson said, via Ben Goessling of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “Fumbling in the end zone like that when we need points and we’re driving and having that momentum. I was telling my teammates that’s on me and it won’t happen again.”
The Vikings had four turnovers overall and they have six in two games, so it’s not like Jefferson is the only culprit in Minnesota and it will be a group effort to clean things up enough to find a way to a victory in the coming weeks.
