Justin Jefferson Puts Blame on Himself For Key Fumble Against Eagles
The key play that swung the Vikings' 34-28 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night was Justin Jefferson's fumble out of the end zone at the end of the first half.
Jefferson caught a pass from Kirk Cousins at the five yard-line and tried to extend the ball to break the plane of the goal line. Instead, he had it knocked out and watched as it bounced over the pylon for what was eventually ruled a touchback. The result was a ten-point swing, as a possible 14-10 Vikings lead at halftime became a 13-7 Eagles advantage.
The play led to renewed discussion about the touchback rule and whether or not it should exist, with many calling it the "worst rule in football." But it's a rule, and that's all that mattered during this game.
To his credit, Jefferson took full responsibility for the mistake in the locker room after the game.
"I’m putting it a lot on myself," he said. "Fumbling in the end zone like that when we need points and we’re driving and we’re having that momentum, I’m putting a lot of blame on myself. Of course, being a captain of the team, I know the situation. Take care of the ball. I was telling my teammates, that was on me and it won’t happen again."
It's hard to fault Jefferson too much for trying to make a play. Teams coach players not to extend the ball in those situations unless it's fourth down, but it's also not uncommon to see players pull it off successfully.
"Players do it all the time to score a touchdown, and so we often joke that, you know, 'Don’t reach for the end zone if you’re not going to score,'" Kirk Cousins said.
Cousins, a notorious perfectionist, also put the blame on himself for that play, saying he wishes he would've thrown a better ball to avoid Jefferson being in that situation.
"I’m going to be hard on myself, right, I’m going to say, 'Look, that ball shouldn’t have stopped him,'" Cousins said. "The ball stops him, so he has to go up and get it and then has to pull through. What if I threw a perfect ball? What if it had dropped right in the bucket? Maybe he runs in untouched. So, again, going back to — we don't even have to have that moment if I can throw a perfect pass and drop it in the bucket to him."
Ultimately, the coaching point is to resist the urge to extend the ball, as tempting as it may be, and live to fight another play. But this was just an unfortunate play at an unfortunate time for Jefferson, who had another incredible game. To see both Jefferson and Cousins put the blame on themselves afterwards says a lot about their leadership.
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