The Green Bay Packers had a hard time containing Justin Jefferson
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson got the better of the Green Bay Packers Sunday. The two-time Pro Bowl receiver dominated the Packers’ defense, especially the secondary. Even with Jefferson’s reputation, watching the highly touted Packers defense struggle as poorly as they did with Jefferson was shocking.
Jefferson scored two touchdowns in the first half to put the Packers in a major hole at halftime. In the first half, it seemed like the Packers made no adjustment on Jefferson that could stop him. He finished the day with nine receptions for 184 yards receiving.
Packers CB Jaire Alexander wanted Jefferson
Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander didn’t match up against Jefferson in the game. It was a surprising decision for the defense to make. Consider 2020, albeit when Jefferson was a rookie, but Alexander locked Jefferson down.
Jaire Alexander was effective on limited dropbacks in the Packers Week 8 loss to the Vikings, shadowing Justin Jefferson on 11 of 14 routes (79%).@JaireAlexander held Jefferson to one reception for 12 yards on two targets as the nearest defender.#MINvsGB | #GoPackGo https://t.co/r62PqrMP53
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 2, 2020
Alexander made interesting comments to the media following the game. Per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, Alexander hinted that he asked the coaches to change the Sunday game plan so he could match up against Jefferson.
Jaire Alexander to me and @RobDemovsky postgame on coaches not having him shadow Justin Jefferson: "All week, (I was) asking for that matchup. But it ain't about me. It's about the team. It ain't about me. If it was my way, you know what I would be doing."
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 12, 2022
Request denied.
Green Bay Packers need to figure out their personnel
It’s clear by Sunday evening that the pregame choices were not what was best for the team. The Packers would have been served better by putting their second-team All-Pro cornerback on the NFC’s best wide receiver.
Alexander’s matchup wasn’t the only coaching decision that struck fans and analysts odd. As Zach Jacobson with CBS Sports pointed out, head coach Matt LaFleur’s decision to go for a fourth-and-one without A.J. Dillion was terrible.
AJ Dillon is on your football team and you go empty on 4th-and-1 and throw into double coverage. These people are sick
— zach jacobson (@itszacharyj) September 11, 2022
The Packers will need to sort this out in practice before their prime-time matchup against the Chicago Bears. The coaching staff didn’t seem to be in sync with their players in Week One.
