The NFL has been all about mic’d-up footage long before other leagues started to see the value in it. And the we’re so glad it continues to be a part of the NFL Films presentation because a moment like Justin Jefferson’s catch against the Bills was the exact kind of play we needed to hear from the sidelines.
And it didn’t disappoint.
By now, you’ve probably seen the catch. With the Vikings driving late in regulation, Jefferson made a contested, leaping catch and somehow won the ball with one hand (while Bills cornerback Cam Lewis had two hands on the ball).
NFL fans were completely stunned by the catch, and it turned out that the Vikings sideline had a similar reaction.
"WHAT?!"
The @Vikings reacted the same way we did to @JJettas2's insane catch. 😮 (via @NFLFilms, @insidetheNFL) pic.twitter.com/EYl5exfNOS
— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2022
NFL Films released some of its footage from that catch, and we could hear as the Vikings players couldn’t believe what they had witnessed. When the offense returned to the sideline, Adam Thielen just had to revisit the catch with Jefferson one more time. All he said was, “What?! What?!” And honestly, that was all that needed to be said.
Fans certainly were able to relate to this mic’d-up look.
This was how Twitter reacted
Still cant believe he caught that https://t.co/MMqlFnZ4So
— Andrew (@A_Loadingg) November 15, 2022
@lick_nattimer and I had similar reactions 😭 https://t.co/Rund4vYlVf
— 🐺👨🏿🦰 (@notbuaydubz) November 15, 2022
I reacted just like Thielen's "WHAT?!…WHAT?!" at the end, except I added at least 3-4 curse words https://t.co/piIyD12K5w
— Eric Thompson (@eric_j_thompson) November 15, 2022
Adam Thielen was all of us. https://t.co/8AqGUy5AH0
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) November 15, 2022
Adam Thielen was all of us https://t.co/a0zkIAxE7P
— Lost Tribe Sports (@LostTribeSports) November 15, 2022
Thielen basically saying exactly what everyone was thinking. WHAT?!?! ✈️ https://t.co/Vv0ohVmD24
— Jordy (@NotTheFakeJordy) November 15, 2022
Play this at my wedding and funeral https://t.co/urILJqU7pj
— peter nomeland (@PeterNomelander) November 15, 2022
“What!? What?!”
— Black Prez (@BlackPrez) November 15, 2022
Yeah this about sums it up (!?) pic.twitter.com/HXy0a1VLlY
— Mario Rossi 🐶🏀 (@mariovrossi) November 15, 2022
It’s hard to imagine a more difficult catch than that. Thielen was spot on.