How did Jaire Alexander and the Packers shut down Justin Jefferson? GoPackGo | SKOL
Sixteen weeks after the third-year receiver caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers and a few days after Alexander’s comments, Alexander and the rest of Green Bay’s secondary walked the walk and shut down Jefferson. The Packers would go on to win their fourth straight game in a 41-17 rout and are just one win away from somehow securing a playoff berth despite a 4-8 start.
Indeed, even without Alexander’s comments, his matchup with Jefferson always was going to be an excellent one. Back in May, the Packers made Alexander the highest-paid defensive back in NFL history with a four-year extension worth $21 million per year. In the coming offseason, the Vikings areto make Jefferson the new highest-paid receiver in NFL history with a contract extension that could be worth more than $150 million total.
Well as it turned out, one of the Packers’ biggest keys to shutting down the dynamic pass-catcher was keeping their elite pass defender on top of him. In Week 1, when Jefferson tore up Green Bay’s secondary, Alexander lined up against Jefferson on only 36 percent of his routes. None of his catches came when Alexander was in coverage. On Sunday, Alexander followed Jefferson on 65% of his routes, and the receiver’s sole catch came after the cornerback passed him off in zone coverage.
One of the biggest things Alexander and the Packers’ secondary did to keep Jefferson’s production limited was playing up on him in press-man coverage and jamming him at the line of scrimmage. There were several instances throughout the game where Alexander or whoever covered Jefferson would shove the receiver within the “five-yard zone” in which defenders are allowed to make contact.
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