The Minnesota Vikings fought hard on Saturday afternoon, in their first preseason game of 2024, an exhibition contest vs the Las Vegas Raiders that had a variety of ups and downs. Kevin O’Connell’s preseason losing streak finally ended, with the Vikings pulling out a 24-23 nailbiter. We saw Sam Darnold for one drive, and he looked pretty good.
Then, we got two quarters of JJ McCarthy. He started slow but finished in elite fashion (see more below), before he was removed in the 3rd quarter, and replaced by Jaren Hall. On defense , it didn’t take long to find out how desperate the secondary is for cornerback help.
Gardner Minshew threw all over the Vikings’ first team defense. In the first half, he looked like a prime Rich Gannon, throwing up and down the US Bank Stadium field. Justin Jefferson goes crazy for teammates during Minnesota Vikings preseason game At the start of the 2nd half, with Minnesota down 20-7, Justin Jefferson joined the broadcast booth, from the sideline.
And just like that, everything in Saturday’s preseason game changed. Momentum swung fully in the purple’s direction. At least for a little bit.
Moments after Jefferson cracked the mic, McCarthy, who had struggled up until that point, threw an absolute dime deep ball to the left sideline, perfectly laid over two defenders, and dropped right into the bread basket of Trishton Jackson. The @Vikings mic'd up Justin Jefferson on the sidelines and his reactions were priceless @JJettas2 pic.twitter.
com/.