If Justin Jefferson needed extra motivation for this Sunday’s border battle against the Packers, Jaire Alexander provided when he said Jefferson’s dominant game in Minnesota’s Week 1 blowout of the Packers was a fluke.
Before you think this is a hit piece on Alexander, let’s make sure you’re aware that he was very complimentary of Jefferson during a media session on Thursday. He said Jefferson is one of his top three receivers in the NFL, behind Davante Adams and right alongside Jaylen Waddle. He then raved about what he feels if Jefferson’s best attribute.
“I think he does a really good job a the catch point. He has strong hands. You wouldn’t really expect it because he seems really skinny and lanky, but he’s really strong at the catch point and he’s good after he catch the ball. I think that’s one of his best attributes, is he can get vertical and score,” said Alexander.
Now to the “fluke” comment. Alexander said it when he was asked about Jefferson shredding him and the Packers with nine catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.
“He don’t jump in no super suit and get dressed and jump outside, you hear me? I don’t either. He’s human, is what I’m saying,” Alexander said. “We ain’t putting too much on it. He’s a really good receiver but at the end of the day I’m a really good corner. We got really good corners. We got really good linebackers, D-line. You don’t want to put too much focus on that one person because, that first game, that was a fluke.”
That game left a “bad taste” in Alexander’s mouth, which was the product of the Packers “working through things” at the time. That’s what he thinks, anyway.
In a follow-up question, a reporter told Alexander that Jefferson only had three catches and 20 yards in the second half of that 23-7 Vikings victory. Jefferson actually had 26 yards in the second half.
Twenty yards. See, exactly,” Alexander replied. “Hopefully that’s the game plan going all game this week.”
Jefferson was targeted just four times in the second half and he caught three of them, including a 21-yard game to move the chains on 3rd-and-7 with the Vikings leading 20-7 with 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Without that catch it would’ve been a Vikings punt to give the Packers some life. Instead, the Vikings used that first down and killed four more minutes and took a 23-7 lead on a field goal by Greg Joseph.
Alexander was targeted by Kirk Cousins just once in that Week 1 game and it was a pass to K.J. Osborn, not Jefferson. Jefferson did his damage against pretty much every other corner, safety and linebacker.
Pro Football Focus ranks Alexander the tenth-best cover corner in the NFL this season. Receivers covered by him have been targeted 66 times and caught 39 passes for 559 yards and two touchdowns this season. He has seven pass break-ups and five interceptions.
