Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson engaged in a rare display of frustration late in Sunday’s 19-15 loss to the Lions. He also didn’t talk to reporters after the game, possibly to avoid saying things that would underscore what he was feeling in the moment.

Four days later, Jefferson spoke to the media — and the No. 1 topic was his apparent mood during Minnesota’s first loss of the season.

“It was wanting to win,” Jefferson said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN, “and I felt like we had plenty of opportunities to win that game and we only hurt ourselves in multiple ways. It’s just wanting better from the whole entire offense especially. And I feel like the potential and the guys that we have in that room is something very, very special. I feel like we’re wasting that if not going out there executing the plays that we have called and just not living to that standard that we feel like we live up to every single day.”

Jefferson, who always says all the right things about his quarterbacks, said all the right things about Kyler Murray, whose performance against Detroit largely contributed to the failure to score more than 15 points.

“I feel like Kyler has continued to grow,” Jefferson said. “I feel like Kyler is continuing to get comfortable with this offense. And I feel like the plays that are there are plays that he’s well capable of making. And those are plays that we’ve seen him make multiple times throughout the season, throughout practice and in training camp as well. So we definitely have faith in him. We have confidence in him to go out there and be that guy that we need him and want him to be.

“But all in all, it’s just executing our plays and just coming ready to play. And I feel like once he’s back out there and he gets more comfortable with the system, more comfortable with just throwing to these different type of receivers, then I feel like he’s going to look a lot better in [reporters’] eyes. But we see that every single day. We see that type of Kyler that we need out there on Sundays every single day. So just bringing that on Sundays. We’re behind him. We’re confident in him, so we just going to keep riding with him.”

For now, the Vikings will ride with Carson Wentz, while Murray is out with a hamstring injury. And Wentz has proven that, of all the quarterbacks who have played for the Vikings since Sam Darnold left for Seattle after the 2024 season, Wentz knows how to get the ball to Jefferson.

Soft bench or not, Wentz has an opportunity to stay on the field if he makes the plays that Murray didn’t on Sunday. Plays that, by the time the game was on the line, coach Kevin O’Connell didn’t allow Murray to try to make.

The one moment that resonates from Sunday’s game wasn’t anything Murray did or failed to do. It came from O’Connell’s decision to punt from the Minnesota 33-yard line on fourth and five with 3:01 to play. Given the manner in which the Lions were running the ball, the likelihood of getting another opportunity to score a touchdown was slim.

Put simply, if O’Connell didn’t trust Murray to gain five yards with the game on the line, O’Connell shouldn’t entrust the starting job to Murray.

For now, Murray technically can’t play due to injury. It’s hard not to wonder whether, if Murray had made the plays needed to outscore the Lions on Sunday, he’d be playing on Monday night despite the injured hamstring.