Jaire Alexander: Justin Jefferson’s 184-Yard Game vs. Packers ‘a Fluke’
Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is just over 200 yards shy of eclipsing Calvin Johnson’s NFL record for most receiving yards in a single season. The 23-year-old has had a dominant year and just about every defense he’s gone up against has struggled to contain him.
But, ahead of this weekend’s matchup against the Packers, standout Green Bay cornerback Jaire Alexander doesn’t seem to be stressed. In fact, he went as far as to call Jefferson’s Week 1 performance against the Packers—in which he had 184 yards and two touchdowns on 11 catches—“a fluke.”
Minnesota won the opener between the two NFC North teams, 23–7.
“You’ve just got to be real: He don’t jump in no super suit and get dressed and jump outside, you hear me?” Alexander said Thursday, per Packer Central’s Bill Huber. “I don’t either, sometimes. But he [is] human, is what I’m saying. We ain’t putting too much on nobody.
“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. You don’t want to put too much focus on that one person because it’s like, the first game, that was a fluke.”
Alexander, who earned the second Pro Bowl nod of his career this season, did make clear that he views Jefferson as one of the top three receivers in the league.
“Davante Adams No. 1, and I think [Miami's Jaylen] Waddle might’ve snuck in there as of this past weekend,” Alexander said. “I think he’s a really good receiver.”
Jefferson wasn’t given the chance to address the fiery remarks from the Packers star defensive back, as the Vikings held their media availability first on Thursday. However, he did admit that he found himself somewhat surprised at how open he was on a number of routes during the year’s first meeting with the Packers.
“As you can see on some of the plays, I was acting like somebody was going to be there and nobody was there. So I’m definitely expecting them to play a little differently,” Jefferson said, per Demovsky. “I definitely remember Jaire saying he was wishing he could play me man-to-man more and be on me more. So I’m pretty sure they’re going to have a different plan than what they had the first game of the season.”
Green Bay defensive coordinator Joe Barry will look to prevent Jefferson from finding too much space this weekend as the Packers try to play themselves back into playoff contention. At 7–8, Green Bay could be eliminated with a loss on Sunday.
Kickoff between the two NFC North clubs is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day.
