The best friendly rivalry in sports right now is arguably Justin Jefferson versus Ja'Marr Chase as the two former LSU Tigers compete for the title of the best wide receiver on the planet.
Entering the fifteenth week of the regular season, Jefferson and Chase have both played 13 games and Chase is running away in the numbers game while Jefferson's Vikings are bound for the playoffs as the Bengals meow weakly towards the offseason.
With four weeks left in the regular season, Jefferson has a message for his buddy: "You can't count me out yet."
"I definitely keep tabs and I'll definitely watch the games whenever we're not playing or I'm just chilling at the crib," Jefferson said in an interview with Rich Eisen, talking about Chase and Joe Burrow lighting up the passing stats in Cincinnati.
"Just seeing the chemistry Joe and Ja'Marr has and Ja'Marr's ability after the catch to make something happen, just great plays," Jefferson continued. "Just having that YAC after the catch, and of course having Joe makes it a little bit easier, just putting it to a spot that he can get it. Joe knows Ja'Marr in and out, so he knows where to throw it at, where to get him the ball to turn up field. Just different stuff.
"Both players are tremendous and very dominant at their position. I'm excited to have played with those guys, but it's always going to be a competition, especially with me and Ja'Marr. We're always trying to compete for the No. 1 spot. There's four weeks left so you can't count me out yet."
Volume is helping Chase's numbers. Burrow has thrown 490 passes compared to 386 attempts by Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold. That volume has resulted in 127 targets for Chase and 107 for Jefferson. It doesn't take away from Chase's performance, but Jefferson is somewhat a victim of being on a great team that doesn't have to play catch-up on a weekly basis.
Jefferson is also receiving more attention from defenses than most. That attention has opened things up for Jordan Addison, who has exploded in the last four weeks with 23 catches for 410 yards and five touchdowns. Jefferson told Eisen that the double and triple teams he's receiving are most prevalent in the red zone, which could be why his touchdown numbers are less than half of Chase's.
"You gotta look at the big picture, not just thinking of yourself selfishly. As long as we're going out there, putting points on the board, we're scoring, we're moving the ball," Jefferson said. "I might not have the biggest game, but we're moving the ball at a fast pace and we're moving the ball because of the attention that they're showing me."
