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Justin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings superstar receiver Justin Jefferson has a history with Tennessee Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. that dates back to before Brownlee entered the league.
A fifth-round rookie this season, Brownlee and Jefferson crossed paths while the Titans cornerback was still in college. Jefferson, an ultra competitor, let Brownlee know he would be in for a rude awakening if they ever crossed paths in the NFL.
“A year or two ago, I was with Dalvin Cook and James Cook. I’m real close to those guys,” Brownlee told the Tennessean on November 15. “[They] just kind of put me on the phone with [Jefferson]. It was a great conversation. He told me when I get in the league, he’s going to work me.”
A full-circle moment is in store for Brownlee. He’s the Titans’ No. 1 cornerback entering a Week 11 matchup with the Vikings due to several injuries in Tennessee’s cornerback room. Brownlee is expected to draw Jefferson as his primary coverage assignment.
Looking to prove Jefferson wrong, Brownlee fired back a four-world response to how he’s going to approach the matchup on Sunday.
“Play with an edge,” he said. “A lot of receivers in the NFL don’t like to be touched. I’m going to be physical, be aggressive and play my game. … But most importantly, I’m going to put hands on him all game. That’s my plan.”
Brownlee will certainly have his hands full with Jefferson, who is second in the NFL with 831 receiving yards this season.
“When I [spoke to Jefferson] back then, I was amped up,” Brownlee added. “I was ready to go. Just to be here now and just to have the opportunity to be able to stick him, it’s a blessing. You can’t ask for no other way than this.”
Vikings’ Justin Jefferson Addresses Facing Physical Coverage
GettyJustin Jefferson #18 of the Minnesota Vikings.
In Week 10, the Jacksonville Jaguars deployed split safety coverage at an unprecedented 92.9% of snaps, the most since at least 2018 when NFL Next Gen Stats started tracking.
It was by design as Jacksonville cornerbacks pressed Jefferson often at the line of scrimmage, knowing they had safety help over the top.
It led to a frustrating outing for the Vikings offense that couldn’t create explosive plays downfield with Jefferson, who caught 5-of-9 targets for 48 yards in an ugly 12-7 win.
Jefferson addressed the extra attention he saw in Jacksonville, which is a formula the Titans could replicate in Week 11.
“You gotta just take it under the chin sometimes. Being a valuable part of this offense, teams are going to try to take me away from the game,” Jefferson said, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis. “Try to allow the other weapons that we have to win us the game. It is what it is. It happens over and over again. I just feel like we’ve got to do a better job taking what we can get. And I feel like we did a great job having those types of plays last week. We’ve just got to finish those drives and get touchdowns.”
Vikings Are Betting Favorites Over Titans In Week 11
GettyJustin Jefferson
Entering a road matchup in Tennessee, the Vikings (7-2) are 6-point favorites over the Titans (2-7), per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Tennessee’s woes this season are due to the offense’s deficiencies with 2023 second-round pick Will Levis at quarterback.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has feasted on young quarterbacks and should again on Sunday. Levis has the second-highest sack rate in the league and the second-lowest ESPN quarterback rating (31.6).
Despite that mismatch, this game has the makings to be another nail-biter if Sam Darnold doesn’t clean up his turnover issues.
The Titans defense has allowed the fewest yards this season and has been dominant in defending the pass, allowing only 156.6 air yards a game. However, that’s been a byproduct of Tennessee’s offense giving opponents short fields. Tennessee ranks 30th in takeaways, which should bode well for Darnold.
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at trevor.squire@heavy.com and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire