Aaron Rodgers to Justin Jefferson: 'Best player in the game today'
The National Football League's cameras captured a special moment after the Minnesota Vikings' 23-7 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, as wide receiver Justin Jefferson received high praise from quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
"Best player in the game today," Rodgers said, embracing Jefferson after he torched the Packers with nine catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
"Best player in the game today." - @AaronRodgers12 to @JJettas2 pic.twitter.com/nuAwuTc2r7
— NFL (@NFL) September 11, 2022
But herein lies the issue: Was Rodgers saying Jefferson was the best player in that very specific game between the Vikings and Packers, or did he mean Jefferson is the best player in the NFL right now?
There's no doubt that Jefferson was the best player in the game, racking up 154 of his 184 yards in the first half, which set the franchise record for yards in a half. His 184 yards is a career high and he also made his 200th career reception, becoming the fourth fastest in NFL history to reach that number.
It took him just 34 games to get 200 catches. Jarvis Landry did it in 33 games, Michael Thomas accomplished the feat in 32 and it took Odell Beckham Jr. just 30.
The debate about who is the best player in the NFL probably starts with Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and QBs like Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, among others.
Jefferson is definitely in the best wide receiver conversation with the likes of Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, and Ja'Marr Chase.
But if he keeps putting up numbers all season like he did Sunday? The "best in the NFL" discussion will have a new name to consider.
Related: Vikings smother Packers as Justin Jefferson runs wild
Related: 5 things that stood out in the Vikings' win over the Packers
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.