The Minnesota Vikings were very excited heading into their Week 14 matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders. Coming off of their bye week, they were going to have star wide receiver Justin Jefferson in the lineup for the first time since Week 5.
Jefferson had been sidelined all of those weeks because of a hamstring injury suffered late in the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs. The team was able to stay afloat without their best player, winning five games in a row without him before dropping two straight heading into the bye.
Unfortunately, all the excitement about his return disappeared quickly, as Jefferson was lost again to injury. This time, it was for what the team deemed a chest injury, as he absorbed a hard hit from Raiders’ safety Marcus Epps.
NFL News & Rumors: Joshua Dobbs, Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings Updates
Jefferson was left out to dry on a poorly placed ball by quarterback Joshua Dobbs. As he extended to make the play, Epps delivered a crushing blow that would knock him out for the remainder of the game.
While it was certainly disappointing to see their star player sidelined again, the team provided a positive update. Jefferson was sent for further evaluation to rule out any internal injuries. Tests must have come back clean as he was back on the sidelines at Allegiant Field by the end of the game and returned home with the team after his hospital visit.
“It looks like we avoided any significant thing there,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said. However, no determination has been made about his availability for the Vikings’ game on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Without Jefferson on the field, the Vikings’ offense was unable to consistently generate any success. The team managed only one field goal late, as Minnesota came away with a 3-0 victory over the Raiders.
NFL News & Rumors: Joshua Dobbs, Justin Jefferson, Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota Vikings Updates
The game-winning drive was led by backup quarterback Nick Mullens, who replaced Dobbs in the fourth quarter. O’Connell was not ready to announce who his starting quarterback would be, as other injuries on offense needed to be figured out first.
But, a change is likely coming. There were talks of a quarterback change coming during the bye week, but the Vikings opted to stick with Dobbs. It would be hard to envision that happening again after the offense generated only one scoring chance with him leading the way, as kicker Greg Joseph missed his first field goal attempt of the game.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
