Green Bay Packers star cornerback Jaire Alexander has played Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson about as well as anyone in the NFL over the past few years, but the three-time Pro Bowl wideout hasn’t yet been willing to give Alexander his due.
Both men are at the top of their respective positions and have had some interesting battles on and off the field over the past handful of seasons. However, Jefferson brushed Alexander aside during a media session on Thursday, September 26, saying he’s clearly on the cornerback’s mind a whole lot more than Alexander is on his.
“I didn’t really care if he played or not last year,” Jefferson said of Alexander. “I really don’t care about the matchup, honestly — I feel like he cares more than I do.”
Showdown Between Jaire Alexander, Justin Jefferson Poised to Be Among Best in NFL This Season
Jefferson and Alexander will, without a doubt, face off several times on Sunday when the Vikings (3-0) travel to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers (2-1) for the first time this regular season.
Jefferson is tied with a handful of players for the league lead in touchdown receptions (3), including teammate Jalen Nailor, and has added 273 yards on 14 total catches with new quarterback Sam Darnold.
Meanwhile, Pro Football Focus (PFF) ranks Alexander the 12th-best cornerback in the NFL through three games out of 97 players who have seen enough snaps at the position to qualify. And while PFF makes its determinations based on advanced analytics, the traditional statistics indicate that Alexander might be even higher up on the list than that.
Alexander has tallied 11 tackles, 4 pass breakups, 2 INTs and a defensive touchdown in three starts in 2024. He is also allowing a collective completion rate under 62% and a collective rating of 85.3 to opposing quarterbacks across 21 total targets (7 targets per game), according to Pro Football Reference.
For context, PFF ranks Jefferson the 8th-best receiver out of 116 qualifying players through three games.
Availability of Packers QB Jordan Love May Decide Packers, Vikings Matchup Sunday
Ironically, it may not be the Darnold-Jefferson connection or the ability of Alexander and the rest of the Packers secondary to take it away that decides the game on Sunday afternoon.
Perhaps the top storyline to watch is whether quarterback Jordan Love is able to return to the field after missing the last two games with a sprained MCL he suffered against the Philadelphia Eagles late in Week 1.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been perhaps the best defensive schemer in football through three games, holding opponents to an average of 10 points per contest in 2024.
Even if Love is back, Green Bay’s offense will face challenges across the football all afternoon long. If he isn’t, the Packers will have to again rely on backup Malik Willis.
That isn’t to say Willis hasn’t been solid, going 2-0 in his two starts and completing 25-of-34 passes for 324 yards and 2 TDs over that stretch. But the Vikings defense is going to be a different animal than what Willis has seen from the Indianapolis Colts (1-2) and Tennessee Titans (0-3) over the past two weeks.
The type of quarterback play the Packers can muster in their first home game against a winning team to counteract all of the success that Darnold and Jefferson have been having/may continue to have Sunday, may well play the biggest role in the outcome of the contest at the top of the NFC North Division.
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