Justin Jefferson led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, the second-best in franchise history. Jefferson and Co. were paired against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round, where they bowed out of the tournament with a 27-9 defeat. It was a similar story for the Vikings in the 2022 NFL season.
Vikings Justin Jefferson Breaks Silence on Concerning NFL Rule originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Justin Jefferson led the Minnesota Vikings to a 14-3 record last season, the second-best in franchise history. But the star wide receiver's dream of winning a Super Bowl was crushed in the first round of the playoffs.
The Vikings missed on the top seed in the NFC after losing to the Detroit Lions in their final regular-season game. Jefferson and Co. were paired against the Los Angeles Rams in the Wild Card Round, where they bowed out of the tournament with a 27-9 defeat.
It was a similar story for the Vikings in the 2022 NFL season. They had a spectacular 13-4 record in the regular season, clinching the NFC North. But it was all in vain as the New York Giants got the better of them in the Wild Card Round, handing them a 24-31 defeat.
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
While the Vikings got the home advantage in 2022, they had to play the Wild Card Round on the road this season. During an interview with Yahoo Sports, Jefferson shared his feelings about the NFL's playoff rule and wants the league to make changes to it.
"With the season that we had last year, to go and play away, it definitely was a little different. It definitely needs to go into consideration and something that we need to figure out because having 14 wins… normally doesn’t go to play away in the playoffs," he said.
The four-time Pro Bowler isn't putting the blame on NFL or making an excuse for the early exit but believes that a team with that kind of regular season record deserves some advantage.
"We definitely had the opportunity to play home field with the last game in Detroit, but even losing that, we still felt like we should’ve had home-field advantage. But even not having home-field advantage is never an excuse. It’s something we had to deal with and we wish we would’ve had home field but it is what it is," Jefferson said.
Wild: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson believes that wild card teams with a better record should have home field advantage:
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 19, 2025
“With the season that we had last year, to go and play away, it definitely was a little different. It definitely needs to go into consideration and something… pic.twitter.com/suF0N6AsAk
The Detroit Lions also made a similar proposal to change NFL playoff seeding a couple of months ago. However, they withdrew their request. The franchise wanted the NFL to seed teams based on overall record rather than giving the division champions a home advantage.
With rising concerns over playoff seeding, the NFL might have to consider it. Changes are imminent, and as the league gears up to expand the regular season to 18 games, teams would fancy being rewarded for their regular-season performances.
Jefferson hopes to make another and deeper run to the playoffs this year. J.J. McCarthy will take over the quarterback duties after Sam Darnold joined the Seattle Seahawks earlier this year. McCarthy missed his rookie season due to a knee injury in the preseason opener. He has a huge task to combine with Jefferson and deliver in his first NFL season.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football
