Jefferson hears from ‘big brother’ Beckham after catch in Buffalo

When the Vikings boarded the team bus to head for the airport after their 33-30 win in Buffalo on Sunday, Justin Jefferson got a phone call from the receiver whose acrobatic catch he might have surpassed: Odell Beckham Jr.

Beckham, who is preparing to sign with a team for a late-season stint after tearing his ACL in Super Bowl XLVI with the Rams, rose to fame in 2014 by using three of the fingers on his right hand to catch a touchdown pass while diving backward against the Cowboys.

Jefferson's one-handed grab on fourth-and-18 required him to fall backward and take the ball away from Bills cornerback Cam Lewis; his grab kept the Vikings' comeback hopes alive, and earned him a phone call from his predecessor at LSU.

"[It was] him just congratulating me," Jefferson said. "He was watching the game, and we was talking about all of the things that we're excited for in the future. He was just congratulating me and being a big brother and supporting me."

Teammate Adam Thielen said he wasn't sure it was even the best catch he's seen from Jefferson, who won NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors after catching 10 passes for a career-high 193 yards and a touchdown. Jefferson said there's no doubt it's at the top of his list.

"That definitely tops all of my catches that I made, just dealing with the situation we were in: fourth down, down in the game," he said. "To make that catch to keep the drive alive and of course we won the game, so I feel like that catch made every other catch very simple to me."

The Vikings listed Jefferson on their first injury report of the week Wednesday with a toe injury, and he was limited in their first official practice of the week on Thursday. Jefferson said Thursday his toe got "a little banged up" during the game, but said he's "perfectly fine."

Joseph's misses come down to mechanics

To Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels, the silver lining behind kicker Greg Joseph's misses this season is they're all consistent.

"I want to say all of them, if not [all but] one of them, have been pushed right," Daniels said. "At least he isn't spraying it left, or spraying it one way or the other. He's consistently missing it one way, so we're able to self-correct that."

Joseph's missed extra point on Sunday hit the right upright at Highmark Stadium.

"What we're starting to see now is him just really focusing on following through, swing all the way up and through the football," Daniels said. "He kind of has a tendency to where, once a kicker swings and goes through a full set of motion, gets his hip through, you'll always see a kicker take their arm up and through the post. What happens at times is, 'G' goes and kicks it, and he kind of allows his follow-through arm not to go all the way through. If you look at all of his misses, every single one of them, that arm isn't following through up and through the post."

Many times, Daniels surmised, the lack of follow-through comes when Joseph has edge rushers near his feet trying to block the kick.

"It might kind of startle him a little bit; he just forgets to do it," Daniels said. "That's something we've been keying and locking in on."

Darrisaw returns to practice; Smith limited

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who left Sunday's game with a concussion, took the first step toward his return Thursday when he was a limited participant in practice. Darrisaw wore a red non-contact jersey and could return to play against the Cowboys if he clears the concussion protocol in time.

Cornerback Akayleb Evans, who also is in the concussion protocol, did not practice. Defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson also remained out with a calf injury. Linebacker Za'Darius Smith was limited with a knee contusion.

For the Cowboys, former Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr (hamstring) was limited in practice after missing last week's game against Green Bay. Running back Ezekiel Elliott (knee) and cornerback Anthony Brown (concussion) were also limited. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) has not practiced this week but told Dallas reporters Thursday he planned to play against the Vikings. Defensive tackle Quinton Bohanna missed practice with an illness.

Home underdogs of a rare breed

The Cowboys are currently 1½-point favorites over the Vikings on Sunday, making the home team an unusual kind of underdog at U.S. Bank Stadium.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Vikings are the first team since 1976 to be a home underdog while starting their regular quarterback and holding a record of 8-1 or better.