Inside The Vikings

Justin Jefferson's One-Handed Catch in Buffalo Wins Best Play at ESPYs

Jefferson had the best play in sports in 2022.

Will Ragatz

In this story:

At the 2023 ESPYs on Wednesday night, Justin Jefferson took home the "Best Play" award for his miraculous, game-saving one-handed catch in Buffalo last season. Beating out golfer Michael Block, UCLA women's soccer player Ally Lemos, and Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas, Jefferson won the award for his unbelievable grab in the Vikings' dramatic upset victory over the Bills.

It's a play you can watch a thousand times and still struggle to comprehend.

"Always dreamt of this moment, making these memorable plays," Jefferson said while accepting the award. "There's so many things that I want to accomplish, things that I want to prove to myself. This is the start of it, but there's more to come, as always."

Trailing by four with less than two minutes to play in a Week 10 showdown at Highmark Stadium, the Vikings faced a 4th and 18 with the game on the line. Kirk Cousins dropped back and just chucked it up for Jefferson, who was surrounded by several Bills defenders. No. 18 rose up and somehow pulled the ball away from Buffalo's Cam Lewis with one hand, rotating his body as he fell to complete the catch.

The Vikings went on to win 33-30 in overtime in one of the craziest games of the year. Jefferson finished the season with 1,809 receiving yards and was named the NFL's offensive player of the year. 

Now he has an award for the best play of the year in all of sports.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long.

Subscribe to the Inside the Vikings newsletter

Follow Will Ragatz on Twitter

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Home/News