Packer Central

Packers-Vikings Big Matchups: Justin Jefferson vs. Jeff Hafley

How will the Green Bay Packers’ secondary be able to slow down Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson without Jaire Alexander?

Bill Huber

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson scores against the Green Bay Packers in 2022.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson scores against the Green Bay Packers in 2022. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – How is the Green Bay Packers’ injury-plagued secondary going to be able to handle Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson?

With premier cornerback Jaire Alexander and starting safety Evan Williams out and safety Javon Bullard questionable for Sunday’s Packers-Vikings showdown at U.S. Bank Stadium, that is the million-dollar question.

But that’s not exactly the right question, according to defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

“When we’re defending the pass and Justin Jefferson and all these good wideouts and Sam Darnold, it’s not just, ‘Put it on the DBs,’” Hafley said on Thursday. “It’s, ‘What can we do as a defense to make sure that we’re playing well back there?’

“We’re rushing well, we’re sending pressures, we’re running good games, we’re dropping into different zones, right? We’re taking a lot of pride in how we disguise things right now. The players are taking a lot of pride in that right now. So, we’re doing it together, and I think that’s the biggest key to it all right now.”

That’s how the Packers won at Seattle a few weeks ago. The Seahawks have a quality veteran quarterback with Geno Smith, a big-time veteran receiver with D.K. Metcalf, an impressive young receiver with Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a solid veteran with Tyler Lockett.

Facing a Packers secondary playing without Alexander and Bullard, Smith was 15-of-19 passing for 149 yards. However, he threw one interception and was sacked three times in about two-and-a-half quarters. He led the Seahawks to just two field goals.

To Hafley, it wasn’t just because Keisean Nixon rose to the occasion or that Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes played well, though that’s true.

The pass rush provided seven sacks and generated pressure on more than half of Seattle’s dropbacks.

The Seahawks completed 20 passes; the Packers gave up just 54 yards after the catch.

“I think you got to look at it (as) it’s not how the secondary’s done it,” Hafley said. “We’ve done it as a team and we’ve done it as a defense, and I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re stressing to these guys right now.”

The Vikings’ offense is better than Seattle’s, though. Quarterback Sam Darnold has rewritten the story of his career in less than five months, and few teams can match the Vikings’ perimeter firepower.

Darnold has had a 100-plus passer rating in 12 of 15 games. Darnold threw 10 interceptions in the first nine games. Not unlike Green Bay’s Jordan Love, he’s thrown just one in the past six.

Jefferson is No. 1 in NFL history in receiving yards per game. This season, he’s second with 1,387 yards and fourth with 10 receiving touchdowns.

While Green Bay’s defense rebounded from the loss at Detroit by allowing just one touchdown the last two games, Minnesota’s offense is rolling, too.

The last six games, Darnold has thrown 15 touchdowns and just one interception. Jefferson and Jordan Addison are averaging a combined 177.3 receiving yards per game with a total of 11 touchdowns. During that span, Darnold is 29-of-38 with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the red zone.

Jefferson and Addison are an elite tandem of receivers, Aaron Jones has almost 1,400 total yards and tight end T.J. Hockenson, who was coming back from a torn ACL when the Vikings beat the Packers in Week 4, has 34 receptions in eight games since returning to the lineup.

Jefferson, though, is the real game-breaker. His 7,069 receiving yards are the most for a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. His 26 receptions of 20-plus yards are six more than any other player and only two fewer than the entire Giants roster. On passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, he’s third with 13 receptions, second with 483 yards and fourth with four touchdowns, according to PFF.

“Justin is a unique mover as far as some of the things he can do transitioning out of routes –  sometimes full speed – and makes cuts that a lot of guys can’t do,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said this week.

In Jefferson’s last two home games against the Packers with his starting quarterback, he caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in 2021 and nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.

However, against Seattle, the Packers held the formidable Metcalf to three catches for 28 yards.

“They’re playing really well as a team overall,” Phillips said. “There’s not a lot of blowouts in this league, especially this year with all the close games – I think a record – but they’re playing well on both sides. Defensively, strong up front. Safeties (are) really good players, I know Jaire’s hurt, but the other corners have done a really nice job. Always have loved Nixon as the nickel. So, they’ve got a lot of weapons on their defense.” 

Of course, those games by Jefferson came against Joe Barry’s defenses. Since the bye, Green Bay is seventh in opponent passer rating. In the last three games, they’re third.

“I think Jeff Hafley’s done a lot of really good things with their defense,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “The brain power of their defensive staff shows up on the tape of how they play, how they disguise, why they’re doing certain things that they do. It’s impressive on that side of the ball what they have navigated.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.