Paul Bretl | 9/29/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers will be without cornerback Jaire Alexander on Sunday afternoon against the Minnesota Vikings, which makes the already difficult task of covering Justin Jefferson even more difficult.
After practicing on Wednesday and Thursday this past week, Alexander was added to the injury report on Friday with quad/groin injuries. He was listed as questionable that afternoon and officially rule out 90 minutes before kickoff.
“That’s a concern, for sure,” said Matt LaFleur on Friday. “Anytime a guy doesn’t practice, it’s definitely concerning.”
Lining up across from the Packers’ defense this weekend will be Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Since entering the NFL in 2020, Jefferson has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark each year, including a 1,600-yard performance in 2021 and an nearly 1,900-yard performance in 2022. Through three games this season, Jefferson has 14 receptions for 273 yards at a whopping 19.5 yards per catch with three scores.
Adding to the already tall task that is covering Jefferson is the head coach Kevin O’Connell’s willingness to line Jefferson up in the slot and put him in motion to get him free releases at the line of scrimmage.
“I mean he’s a great player,” said Jeff Hafley. “Well, one, you turn on the tape and it doesn’t take you very long to figure out how good he is. I mean, he’s big, he can catch the ball, he’s fast, he can run all the routes, he’s good when he catches the ball in catch and run, he’s got incredible hands.”
The last time these two teams met was in Week 17 of last season and the Packers were also without Alexander in that game as he served a team-imposed suspension. Without Alexander, it was Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine who got the start at cornerback. Today, the combination we could very well see will be Ballentine and Eric Stokes, with Valentine also out.
In certain situations, we could also see Keisean Nixon on the boundary, where he got snaps during training camp, which could potentially open up opportunities for Javon Bullard in the slot as well. With the versatility the Packers have, they do have options, but as always, it will come down to executing.
As Hafley described this past week, as the defensive coordinator it is his job to put his players in a position to make plays. However, how he goes about doing that changes without Alexander in the mix. But given that Alexander’s injury popped up so late in the week, there is likely only so much that can be done when it comes to altering the game-plan.
“I’ve kinda told you guys this a bunch,” Hafley said, “it’s our job to put our best players in a position to make plays, so if it’s our job to put our best players on their best players, then we need to figure out how to do that. I mean I’m not just gonna walk into a game and say the scheme is just strong enough to stop that great player.
“That’s just not how I think. We gotta figure out how to stop their best players each week and if that means doing something a little bit different, then it’s our job to do that.”
An added challenge with this Vikings offense is that it’s not only Jefferson who the team has to worry about. While the game plan may center around limiting him, Minnesota also has Jordan Addison returning this week and a strong running game led by Aaron Jones.
Potential success for the Packers defense is going to have to begin with slowing the Vikings’ run game, which will put them behind the sticks and in more obvious passing situations, at which point, the pass rush will have to get home quickly to provide its secondary with some help.
“You’ve got to know where he is and you have to pick and choose times to scheme around him,” added Hafley about Jefferson. “You can’t just scheme around him the whole game, they have other really good players, too.
“I think that’s the difference when they’re running the ball really well, too. You just worry about him all game and then you’re going to look down and they’re going to beat you up in the run game. I think that’s what they’ve done such a good job of this year both coaching and playing; they can do both.”