EAGAN, Minn. — Justin Jefferson against Atlanta smacks like a basket of lemon pepper wet.

Instead of zesty wings, though, it's saucy routes, catches and touchdowns cooked up by the Vikings phenom, who enters Week 2 and the team's home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium with history at stake.

The first time J.J. McCarthy connects with Jefferson on Sunday Night Football, the super-skilled receiver will tie Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald as the youngest to record 500 career catches (26 years and 90 days). Jefferson teased becoming the youngest all-time on the road at Chicago but settled for 499 in 78 games.

One way or another, "Jets" was destined to accomplish the feat in prime time.

Now, he gets the chance to do it versus an opponent against which he's enjoyed success. In his sixth career game, on Oct. 18, 2020, Jefferson swallowed career catches Nos. 20-28 for 166 yards and two touchdowns. He relished a two-touchdown encore Dec. 8 last season, securing catches Nos. 461-467 for 132 yards.

Jefferson's flight path versus the Falcons so far is extraordinary. He's the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with consecutive initial games of 130 or more receiving yards and two-plus TD against a single opponent; he was preceded by Jerry Rice vs. the Chargers, Mark Duper vs. Washington and David Boston vs. the Bengals. Surrounded by a Purple glaze, Jefferson could become the first player with a three-piece.

"It's going to be really special," Jefferson said when asked about playing his first home game of 2025. "Our fans are definitely one of the top, if not the top fan base in the league, so to be able to be in that 'Bank' again and to hear that loud noise – and then it's Sunday night; [Adam Thielen] back in the building. I know the whole stadium is gonna be loud and energetic. I can't wait for the standing ovation of having J.J. in there for the first time [and] having (No.) 19 [back] in there. Juices are gonna be flowing."

Vikings Uniform

Minnesota will don its Vikings Classic uniform. Inspired by the 1960s and '70s, it has retro sleeve stripes, as well as a deeper purple and larger, gold-trimmed numbers than the modern jersey. The team is planning to roll out this look twice in 2025, bringing it back for the Week 18 regular-season finale against Green Bay.

3 Vikings Storylines

1. Star status

The Vikings on Friday ruled out Christian Darrisaw, Jeff Okudah and Andrew Van Ginkel and listed Harrison Smith as questionable.

A long-term plan is being followed for the former, who tore his ACL in Week 8 last season and has ramped up throughout the summer. Justin Skule started in place of Darrisaw at Chicago.

Okudah and Van Ginkel are in the concussion protocol. The Hitman missed several weeks due to an illness and is listed on the injury report. Smith shared recently that his primary focus now is conditioning and that he expects to be back within the month.

Third-year safety Jay Ward nearly eclipsed his single-season high for defensive snaps by logging 25 in the Windy City (he played 35 and 28 total in 2023 and 2024), and held his own, with a 72.8 coverage grade and 79.4 tackling score per PFF. He primarily aligned at free safety and had a few reps in the box and slot.

Van Ginkel was unbelievably a finger-length away from plucking another pick six on a screen pass last week. Second-year OLB Dallas Turner, who had a fabulous camp and notched a couple hurries in Week 1, will start in his place.

2. Believing in the prep

Internally, it was never in doubt McCarthy and Co. could reach the flowstate the group hit in the fourth quarter last week. That belief though – fairly or not – didn't extend to the entire audience until they witnessed it.

That's a reflection of the world wanting proof before buying into something. It's hard to argue.

In sports, however, and especially in a scene where snap-neck decisions can amount to six points the wrong way or fuel a 21-point final frame (with a 149.5 passer rating no less), it's important to invest belief in the person, qualities, execution, and preparation that exists long before the results occur.

Frankly, it's why McCarthy's demeanor never changed in his NFL debut in his hometown with an estimated 200-250 family and friends on site to celebrate his knighting as the Vikings new quarterback. It's why he didn't react to a ghastly three quarters aside from asking his teammates “Where else would you rather be?” It's why McCarthy's teammates rallied; the defense stiffened; the offense came alive; and Head Coach Kevin O'Connell and his staff never wavered from the belief they held before the night.

McCarthy is going to meet more adversity. He won't win NFC Player of the Week honors every time he graces the gridiron. But the team's belief in him and the power of manifestation will reap positive results.

"I've just tried to lean on the fact that a lot of the guys that have the belief they do and had it before we took the field on Monday night, they hopefully have reasons why – beyond just the fact that we all believed J.J. is made of the right stuff, and we all believed he would respond in those moments," O'Connell detailed his mental philosophy and its greater effect. "But that's my hope with a lot of things, not just the young quarterback. That's my hope with our football team, where we can start to really believe deep down inside and expect good things to happen based upon how we have prepared with training camp and the whole offseason to make sure in those moments we shouldn't be shocked by it, we should be expecting it and getting in the huddle and getting ready to snap the ball again and do it again and again, as a football team, and do whatever it takes to try to win."

3. Green dot duties

Along with backup running back and kick returner Ty Chandler, the Vikings transferred starting inside linebacker and Green Dot Blake Cashman to Injured Reserve Thursday because of a hamstring problem.

It's a big loss as Cashman plays an integral role in disseminating coach input before the snap and performs as well in the pass game as he does against the run. Fortunately, the Vikings have Eric Wilson.

"Eric is a seasoned veteran in every way. I mean, he's as professional and mature as a guy I've been around, and he can play some football," Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores relayed Thursday.

"He's just got a real innate, instinctive feel to the game," Flores added. "I think we saw that on Monday night. But we've really seen that [all] training camp. He's a guy we were sitting there, 'How do we get him in the game? How do we put some packages together to get him in?' He's done a really nice job."

A key contributor on special teams, Wilson received an uptick in snaps on defense once Cashman exited the 27-24 win over the Bears in the second half. Across 54 total snaps (25 on defense), Wilson had a beastly tackle on kickoff, tipped a Chicago punt and looked stout plugging gaps in Cashman's stead.

Flores recognized it's "tough to lose 'Cash' " but called the switcheroo Monday a "seamless transition."

After Wilson and Ivan Pace, Jr., who filled the void as best they could, Minnesota has sixth-round rookie Kobe King and undrafted rookie Austin Keys listed on the depth chart. Both played special teams in Week 1.

2 Things 'Bout the Falcons

1. Beware: Bijan Robinson

Nine NFL players, including the Falcons running back, notched 100 or more receiving yards Week 1.

In other words, Bijan Robinson is an all-purpose threat.

Last year, leading into the Week 14 contest against Atlanta, O'Connell recalled studying Robinson in the 2023 draft process: "I remember really watching, a couple times, him and [Jahmyr] Gibbs, and just really thinking, 'Either one of these guys are gonna be incredibly impactful'," he said about the ascending back.

That assessment was on the nose.

Through two seasons and a game, Robinson is responsible for 3,474 scrimmage yards and 24 touchdowns. The only players with more yards from scrimmage in that span are Derrick Henry (3,677) and Saquon Barkley (3,609). Robinson, however, has touched the ball fewer times than both of them.

Impressively, this past Sunday, when Tampa Bay limited Robinson's effect on the ground to 12 rushes for 24 yards, the 8^th overall pick of 2023 transferred his impact to the air, reeling in six receptions for 100 yards.

Robinson snared both of Michael Penix, Jr. 's pass attempts on the Falcons game-opening drive that he ended with a 50-yard score.

"The touchdown catch was a checkdown in space, and [Bijan] turned it into a massive explosive play – breaking tackles, finding grass, and scoring (from midfield)," O'Connell described Robinson's playmaking.

That's why he's "one of the best at his position," the coach affirmed.

Flores added: "In space [he's] as hard to tackle as there is in the National Football League."

Robinson possesses great vision, plus speed to outrun defenders to the perimeter, agility to make them tackle air and physicality. He also has a receiver-like route tree, enabling him to "ruin the game," Flores commented. "So we've got to pay very close attention to him. … We need 11 hats running to the football. We've got to play with good technique, good fundamentals. We've got to set edges. We've got to do everything. But you can do everything right and he can still bounce out of there. That's likely to happen. And so that's where you build in your resilience as a team and you line up and play the next play and do that over and over again for 60 minutes, one play at a time, and see what happens at the end."

2. New to the defense

Takeaway-driven. Fundamentally disciplined. Talent at all three levels.

In a nutshell, that's what Atlanta's defense presented last week against Tampa Bay, restricting the Bucs offense to 260 total yards, and what the Vikings are expecting to go against on Sunday Night Football.

There is continuity and turnover defensively relative to 2024 for the Falcons.

Notably, Atlanta Head Coach Raheem Morris hired former New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich to coordinate that side of the ball. Morris called shots for the Los Angeles Rams defense in 2021 when they won the Super Bowl with O'Connell and Vikings Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips on staff, and Ulbrich was the Jets D.C. when Minnesota played in London last season. So there's a degree of familiarity.

Morris' and Ulbrich's styles merge nicely.

"Ultimately, Raheem brings him in to call it – you can see why – and he carries a lot of those exact same characteristics," O'Connell said, saluting their first game. "Now you have a world where they can mesh two different schemes entirely together and create some problems for offenses, especially early on in the year, where there's really only one game of inventory of knowing what exactly they're going to be."

"They're relentless," said Phillips, adding, "They're coached well between Raheem and Ulbrich, both very good coaches. You know they're going to be sound, they're going to play very hard, they're going to tackle, they're going to hit, and they're going to go after the football. I know that's always an emphasis. Everyone says it's emphasis. But for Raheem especially, I know that's a huge, huge emphasis."

Personnel-wise, the Falcons defense is leaning on a blend of veterans and rookies. Its secondary includes 2020 first-round cornerback A.J. Terrell, safety Jessie Bates III and former Vikings first-round corner Mike Hughes. Day 2 and Day 3 2025 picks Xavier Watts and Billy Bowman, Jr., are starters at safety and nickel.

The front seven features productive linebackers Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo, a big body defensive tackle in David Onyemata, veteran pass-rusher Leonard Floyd and 2025 first-rounders James Pearce, Jr., and Jalon Walker; those two did not start in Week 1 but garnered almost half the unit's snaps as rotators on the edge.

1 Key Matchup

J.J. McCarthy vs. Michael Penix, Jr.

Typically, like, in 99 of 100 instances, we'd dislike the idea of listing dueling quarterbacks in this section. But the circumstances Sunday are different – and awesome, neat, notable, etc. – so we're rolling with it.

Why? Because there are links aplenty between McCarthy and Penix.

Both were Top 10 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft (Penix was the 8^th overall selection and third quarterback taken, and McCarthy was the 10^th and fourth at their position). Both have fewer than five career starts, making for the first Sunday Night Football matchup in history with two such non-rookie quarterbacks. Both, ironically, were drafted to succeed Kirk Cousins, who left Minnesota in 2024 free agency after six quality seasons and inked a multiyear contract to be the Falcons starter. After the Falcons opened last season 7-7, Penix replaced Cousins, who remains on Atlanta's roster as the NFL's most expensive backup.

Both McCarthy and Penix are inexperienced by NFL standards (Penix has clipped 59.9 percent of his throws and posted a 1-3 record in four starts, with four touchdowns and three interceptions) and both already have gamed against another quarterback in their class – Penix's Falcons fell to No. 2 choice Jayden Daniels and the Commanders in overtime last year; McCarthy led the Vikings back to beat No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and the Bears on Monday Night Football (a kind reminder, not that it was necessary).

Perhaps most interestingly, after both players finished in the Top 10 in the 2023 Heisman Trophy race, McCarthy and Penix steered their respective college programs to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game where Michigan and the Vikings future field surveyor won convincingly, 34-13.

Though none of the above will factor into their "rematch," it makes for a sweet, full-circle narrative. It's a rare one, too. There are four previous instances of different CFP National Championship Game starters rising ranks and meeting again as opposing NFL starters (the most recent occurrence was Week 6 of 2024 between Deshaun Watson and Jalen Hurts). By happenstance, McCarthy and Penix will be the sixth unique payback game; the fifth distinction will go to Trevor Lawrence and Joe Burrow at noon Sunday.

"I love Michael. Just being able to be with him during the pre-draft process and really understand his process and who he is as a man and his personality — it's no surprise he's in the position he's in right now," McCarthy expressed this week. "I'm extremely excited to see him again and compete against him."

Top Quote of Week 2

Special Teams Coordinator Matt Daniels on rookie punt returner Myles Price’s fearlessness

"I tell the guys all the time about the 'Man in the Arena'. Surely everyone's seen Gladiator. There's only so many man-in-the-arena [situations] in the NFL, when you start talking about 70,000 people looking at one person on a play. Really, the returner is that, the quarterback is that, the kicker is that. So it takes a lot of mental toughness and grit to kind of be that person. And the mental makeup of Myles says a lot about who he is and what you really appreciate, and it's something you really look for in that position."

From the Inbox – by Craig Peters

Just a couple of quick observations from our Monday night win. In the first half, our O-line looked like it was having a tough time meshing, which was expected with the number of new pieces we added this year. They found it in the third quarter and started to look like the Minnesota Moving Co. that us fans were hoping for.

Our two-headed monster at RB is dangerous!! With Aaron Jones, Sr., catching passes and [Jordan] Mason hitting the interior hard, I expect great things from this group! Our WR group is the most talented group in the league, and they are going to get even better after Week 3 when Jordan Addison comes back. Welcome home to Adam Thielen!!!!!

J.J. McCarthy has IT. Poise, leadership, heart, ability and confidence. But I think most of all, after watching the team's reaction after J.J. ran in the TD at the end, it feels as though his teammates have embraced him as their leader and will run through a brick wall for him.

And last, but certainly not least, our defense and special teams are outstanding! Andrew Van Ginkel almost got another pick six, the D-line is stout and will be very hard to run against. Myles Price and Ty Chandler in the return game are lethal, and Brian Flores is the best defensive coordinator in the game.

— Jonathan Dittmer

Quite a comprehensive recap from Jonathan here that highlights so many of the reasons Minnesota was able to execute the comeback against the Bears.

If one watched the first half, a logical person would draw a line to four of five offensive linemen who started not being here last year. Mainstay right tackle Brian O'Neill was joined by veterans Will Fries (RG), Ryan Kelly (C) and Skule (LT) and rookie Donovan Jackson (LG).

If one watched the second half, a logical person might not have believed there were four players among the five who were not here last season. It was a great debut for the interior of the offensive line, and the unit really put some nice things together the deeper the game went.

It was cool to see the plan for having "1A/1B" running backs. Both found ways to make a mark on the game, even though Chicago's defense was pretty solid early.

The term "connection" is often used between a QB and receivers, and I believe in that sense the Vikings are still understandably developing it between McCarthy and a talented group.

The other sense of "connected" speaks to the bonds between a QB and teammates, and the initial signs that Jonathan mentioned bode well. The relationship building is already on a strong foundation. It's obviously one start, and it definitely won't be the end of challenges for McCarthy to overcome, but the demeanor and execution under stress were impressive.

The defense played a huge role by keeping the game within reach, particularly when considering seven points came off the pick six.

Side note: I don't know if folks saw Jefferson's media session on Thursday, but he took ownership that he needed to be more dialed in on his route against that coverage by the defense and run it differently. That's good accountability from the superstar.

Back to the defense, what an effort, and it began with repeated interior pressures caused by newcomers Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. The front did a tremendous job against the run, too.

Sure, Caleb Williams did some damage on scrambles, but remove his 58 yards (which were problematic), and the Bears totaled 61 on 20 rush attempts (3.1 per carry). Flo' started dealing.

What a debut for Price, and I love the above analogy by Daniels. Kudos to Chandler for toughing it out and taking care of the football during the final kickoff return.

WOW! What an amazing comeback. I try to catch as many press conferences as I can so maybe I missed the comments about always being up against the play clock in the first half. It made me cringe as I remembered previous coaching regimes who seemed to be clueless. Was J.J. struggling to get the play call or was he trying to change the play when he saw what the defense was presenting? Your thoughts… Also, I thought KO's clock management at the end of the game was masterful.

— Bruce in Gilbert, Arizona

O'Connell and Phillips were asked about the reasons for the play clock running low, and it sounds like a few factors contributed.

"It's not even just young quarterbacks, it's just the game one. In a lot of ways, we try to simulate the play clock as much as possible," O'Connell said. "A lot of times it ended up being on those third downs where you're trying to do everything as a staff based upon the limited inventory of the actual real Dennis Allen-coached Chicago Bears defense to try to piece together some things to help the offensive group get the best possible play we can get to maybe see a Cover 0 look and get it blocked up and have a chance to convert."

Phillips noted the fact the Vikings didn't reduce what they expect McCarthy to be able to handle.

"Tough one right out, right out of the gate for a rookie quarterback on the road, you're using silent count," Phillips said. "We're not dumbing down the game plan. We're trying to give them the best ops to get in the right plays and those types of things. And I know procedurally it felt a little late and frantic a couple of times there. I think it improved throughout the game, but those times where he's stepping up there in the noise and talking to those guys, I mean, he's making protection fixes or calls that we need to be made to be able to have a chance to get some of these plays off. I thought he handled that really, really well."

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