Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson knows what to expect from Green Bay Packers boisterous cornerback Jaire Alexander Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Jefferson awaits the veteran corner's attempt to get into his head in their fifth career meeting.
"He tries to. He definitely tries to," Jefferson said of Alexander's tactics. "I mean, he reminds me of my big brother. That always just tries to knickknack at every single thing. Trying to play the head game. Trying to hit you a little extra, or push you a little extra than normal people do. I understand it's a tactic to get inside my head, and to mess up my game plan, and what I'm doing. But it doesn't really work. I understand he has some help over the top sometimes. He likes to do the jump jam. He likes to put hands on. To disrupt the route. We have a plan for it, and I can't wait to go up against it, honestly."
Jefferson has had some monster games against Green Bay, generating 150-plus yards twice against former Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry.
When Alexander has been matched up one-on-one with Jefferson, the corner has slowed the best wideout in the league, but it's a small sample size. Per Next Gen Stats, Jefferson has one catch and 12 receiving yards on five targets in 23 career coverage snaps with Alexander as the nearest defender.
In Week 7 last season, Alexander hit a Griddy after a pass breakup against Jefferson.
"I mean, it is what it is," Jefferson said of the CB's antics. "Just like I said, he likes to do that stuff to get inside someone's head. I'm not really tripping on that. I'm just going to get my get back by Griddy'ing in his end zone. So, I'm not tripping on it at all. I'm excited for the matchup."
Jefferson has averaged 76.7 receiving yards per game in seven contests against the Packers. He averages 100.6 versus all other opponents (56 games).
In Week 17 last season, Alexander sat out the matchup versus Jefferson and the Vikings, a 33-10 Green Bay win in Minnesota.
Jefferson said he's never focused on who is active on the other sideline.
"Yeah, I didn't really care if he played or not last year," the wideout said. "I was just more focused on, during that time, we were fighting to get back into the playoffs. To make our run. That's something I was looking forward to. I don't really care about the matchup, honestly. I feel like he cares more than I do. But it is what it is. That's every team. It's no knickknack at Jaire. That's every team in how they scheme against me, and how they try to play me. It doesn't matter if I'm going up against Jaire on the worst corner in the league. It doesn't matter. We have a game plan, a scheme and a plan to go out there and execute no matter who's guarding me."
Sunday marks the first time Jefferson and the Vikings will face new Packers DC Jeff Hafley. Through three games, the Green Bay defense has caused more havoc for opponents, generating seven INTs -- the same number they had all of 2023.
2024 Packers: 3.0 takeaways/game, 3.7 sacks/game, 28.1 opponent 3rd down percent
2023 Packers: 1.1 takeaways/game, 2.6 sacks/game, 41.1 opponent 3rd down percent
