Sports

Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson will play the 84th game of his NFL career tonight against the Chargers, and in it he is likely to surpass 8,000 career receiving yards. That would make him the fastest player in NFL history to do so.

Former Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones reached 8,000 receiving yards in his 85th career game, which is currently the record for the fastest to reach that milestone. Jefferson has 7,960 receiving yards through 83 career games, so he only needs 40 yards tonight to get to 8,000 faster than Jones did.

Jefferson, whose career average is an NFL-record 95.9 yards per game, is rarely held below 40 yards. He's failed to reach that number only 13 times in his career.

After Jones and Jefferson, the player with the third-most receiving yards through 84 career games was Jerry Rice, who had 7,223 receiving yards in his first 84 career games. Rice went on to play 219 more games and gain 15,672 more receiving yards, retiring as the NFL's all-time record holder with 22,895 receiving yards.

It's probably not realistic to think Jefferson could play long enough to threaten Rice's record. But any time a receiver is ahead of Jerry Rice's pace, that alone is an impressive achievement.

Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown had a limited practice on Wednesday, his first practice since tearing his anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee on Dec. 9. Overshown knew that Wednesday was his first practice in 317 days.

He plans to return for the Nov. 17 game against the Raiders on Monday Night Football. 

"Monday night, primetime, [number] zero will be making his debut," Overshown said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. "I'm excited for it. It's not going to be anything short of extraordinary. I'm ready to show truly how blessed I am.

"A lot of people claim that this knee injury is one of the worst of the worst and not too many people come back the same afterward. I'm ready to put that to the test."

Overshown's 2025 season was in question after his injury against the Bengals, but when he began his rehab, Overshown had a goal of returning by Thanksgiving. It appears he will beat his goal.

Overshown, per Archer, recently underwent tests that showed the ligaments are healed and the knee is structurally sound. The Cowboys have five more practices the next two weeks, followed by the off week, when he will continue to work his way back.

He can't wait to get back into action, something many thought wouldn't happen this season.

"I kinda knew at that moment what was going on with my knee, so I didn't look back," Overshown said. "I said, 'OK, this is what I'm dealing with. I don't know the total damage done, but I know it's something that I'm going to have to work back from.'

"I gotta have faith. That's all it was, the main part. Like it was you have faith and belief that what's done for you is going to be for you."

Aaron, Aaron, Aaron.

While Sunday will mark the first time Aaron Rodgers has played his former team, it's also the first time that Jordan Love has played his mentor. Rogers was traded in 2023 to make way for Love to take over as the Packers' starting quarterback.

"It was definitely difficult . . . understanding who you're taking over for," Love said Wednesday, via Mike Spofford of the team website. "The main thing for me was just trying to block all that out and understand that for me, this is a great opportunity, something I've been waiting for, for three years behind him, watching him.

"So I knew in the back of my head I was ready, and [I focused on] how best can I go out there and try to block all that extra noise out and just play my game, and make my own name here."

Rodgers and Love have stayed in touch since Rodgers departed for first, the Jets and then the Steelers. On Wednesday, Rodgers called Love a "great kid" and said he enjoyed his time with him in Green Bay.

He continues to mentor Love from a distance.

"A-Rod texted me and was talking about some of the plays we'd run and some of my footwork, things like that, complimenting me," Love said. "So obviously it's great to be able to hear from him.

"I've got so much respect for him, and anytime he gives me pointers, stuff like that, obviously you want to get feedback from a legend like that."

The Packers, much to Rodgers' chagrin, used a first-round pick on Love in 2020. Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, keeping Love on the bench.

Love replaced Rodgers as the Packers' starter in 2023, and now in his third season, he is off to his best start. In six games, he has a 69.3 completion percentage with 10 touchdowns, two interceptions and a 108.1 passer rating.

"A-Rod was obviously at a different level, so it's something I had to build up into," Love said. "But it was cool to be able to watch him do some things, and it just gave me perspective on how to play the position and how to be able to handle a lot of different things."