Minnesota’s 2023 season was derailed due to injuries on offense. Justin Jefferson suffered a hamstring injury in Week 4 and has missed eight games. The Vikings also lost veteran QB Kirk Cousins to an Achilles tear. The Vikings have remained competitive despite not having their two top offensive players. 

They are 6-6 through 12 games this season and are barely holding onto a playoff spot. Minnesota still has five games left this season to try and lock in a postseason berth. Luckily, they’ll have Justin Jefferson returning in Week 14 after missing eight straight games. It’s been a long-awaited return for the 2022 AP Offensive Player of the Year. He’ll hope to give his team a spark on offense when they face the Raiders this Sunday.

Justin Jefferson will return in Week 14 for the Vikings

Justin Jefferson already has 571 yards heading into Week 14. https://t.co/WWjI6C73ZC pic.twitter.com/AWMP7zSq3E

— theScore (@theScore) December 8, 2023

According to the 24-year-old, his new goal this season is to finish with over 1,000 yards. His goal before the injury was to have over 2,000 yards. Jefferson was close in 2022 when he finished with 1,809 and won Offensive Player of the Year. He started the 2023 season off strong, averaging (114.2) yards per game. If he would have played in every game this season, that would have put close to 2,000 yards receiving.

After missing eight games in a row, Jefferson has modified his goal to 1,000 yards this season. In five games played, he has 571 yards receiving in 2023. Minnesota has five games left to play and Jefferson still needs 429 yards to have 1,000 for the year. That means Jefferson only needs to average (85.8) yards per game over his next five contests. He’s more than capable of making that happen.

Josh Dobbs to Justin Jefferson first play on Sunday pic.twitter.com/vNjCa2ys4L

— E̷d̷w̷i̷n̷ (@IMissWinning) December 7, 2023

At 6-6, the Vikings still have a chance to make the playoffs this season and they have some tough games ahead. Three of their last five games are divisional matchups that are going to matter in the NFC playoffs race. Minnesota still has to play the Lions twice and the Packers in Green Bay. Justin Jefferson will be returning in Week 14 and the Vikings will be on the road to face the Raiders. It will be exciting to see just how explosive and effective Jefferson is this Sunday.