GREEN BAY, Wisconsin — Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander holds Justin Jefferson as high as any receiver in the NFL.
He just doesn’t think the Minnesota Vikings star will repeat his performance from the season opener — 11 catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the 23-7 win over the Packers on Sept. 11 — when the two teams meet again at Lambeau Field Sunday.
“You just have to be honest: He doesn’t jump into a super suit and get dressed and jump outside, do you hear me?” Alexander said on Thursday. “Sometimes neither do I. But he [is] man, I say. We don’t impose too much on anyone.
“He’s a really good receiver. But at the end of the day I’m a really good corner. We’ve got really good corners, we’ve got really good linebackers, D-line, whatever it is. I don’t want to focus too much on that one person because it’s like the first game was a fluke.
Alexander, who was called up to the Pro Bowl for the second time of his career this season, said Jefferson is among his top three receivers.
“Davante Adams No. 1, and I think [Miami’s Jaylen] Waddle might have wormed its way in there since last weekend,” Alexander said. “I think he’s a really good receiver.”
Both Alexander and fellow cornerback Rasul Douglas downplayed the first meeting of the season. In fact, they said they didn’t spend time going back to watch a movie about what Jefferson was doing when he had six of his catches for 158 yards and both touchdowns in the first half.
“I don’t really remember that game,” Douglas said. “I kind of threw away all the games in the first half.”
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However, it’s not as if Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry ignored that first meeting. The defensive coaches included several of these plays in their footage this week.
“It’s been a long time in an NFL football season,” Barry said. “But we studied it and we looked at it and of course there are things that they did that they still do. So of course we looked at those things. But you live and learn from every experience and that’s definitely one that we learned from and on to the next.”
Since then, Douglas has moved from the slot position to an outside cornerback spot, and Alexander has occasionally been used to follow a particular receiver during a game — a strategy Barry didn’t use in the opening game against Jefferson.
“Spring, [Jefferson] will get his touches,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “In fact, it’s funny you’re asking that because I’ve been watching his game-by-game production and they’re doing a great job moving him around. So it comes with some challenges. Unless you just want to lock him up and play man, which opens a new can of worms with every snap, it’s hard to explain simply where he’ll be. I think you have to do a great job of giving him a different look, but you always have to be aware of where he stands on the field.
The Packers (7-8) would be eliminated from playoff contention with a Sunday loss combined with a win by the Detroit Lions (versus the Chicago Bears) or the Washington Commanders (versus the Cleveland Browns). Even if they win their last two games, they’ll need help in the form of either a loss to the Commanders or two losses to the Giants to get them in.