Justin Jefferson Held to Career-Low One Catch Against Jaire Alexander, Packers
The Vikings' blowout loss against the Packers on Sunday was frustrating for everyone wearing purple and white, whether they were on the field, in the stands, or watching at home. Perhaps no one was more discontented than Justin Jefferson, Minnesota's superstar wide receiver.
During his team's defeat at Lambeau Field, Jefferson was held to a single catch for the first time in his three-year career. Nearly four months after he torched Green Bay's zone defense looks for nine catches, 184 yards, and two touchdowns in Week 1, his lone reception on five targets was a 15-yard gain in the third quarter that came with the Vikings already trailing 27-3.
The Packers entered this game with a much different plan than the one Jefferson exploited to a remarkable degree at U.S. Bank Stadium in September. In that contest, they stuck to zone coverage and somehow let Jefferson get wide open on multiple occasions. This time around, they threw a ton of man coverage and double teams at the Vikings' best player; cornerback Jaire Alexander followed him around the field and benefited from having safety help behind him.
"(There) was a lot of two-deep coverage for him today," Kevin O'Connell said. "Two-deep man under, two-deep zone. They weren’t going to allow him to have a lot of one-on-one coverage. It did not exist much today."
"I feel like they played that the majority of the whole first half," Jefferson said. "Really just tryna get Jaire to put hands on me, not giving me that free release off the line. They had a good strategy, good game plan. Their plan was not to let me go off and get the yardage I had the first game."
Alexander poked the bear multiple times this week — and lived to tell the tale. Earlier in the week, he told Green Bay reporters that Jefferson's huge outing in the season opener was "a fluke." Then, after a first quarter pass breakup, Alexander busted out an enthusiastic rendition of Jefferson's signature Griddy dance.
"I thought it was taunting, first of all," Jefferson said. "I thought that (warranted) a taunting call. But I mean, it is what it is. He does stuff like that to try to get in my head. Even from his comments leading into this game, it’s just talk. It’s just trying to give himself that boost or that confidence to go out there and guard me."
Griddying in the first quarter was tempting fate, but the Vikings' offense was never able to get back at Alexander. Two plays later, Kirk Cousins threw a pick-six, the first of four turnovers on the day for him. In the second quarter, Jefferson slipped on the Lambeau Field grass and Cousins' pass, which was tipped at the line of scrimmage, was intercepted again. That set up a Packers touchdown that made it 24-3.
As Jefferson ran off the field at the end of the play, he showed some of his frustration.
Jefferson, who still leads the NFL in receiving yards, came into the day having recorded ten 100-yard outings in 15 games. He was just over 200 yards away from Calvin Johnson's all-time single-season record, which is likely now out of reach given the possibility the Vikings rest some starters in Week 18. But with Cousins under frequent pressure and constant bracket coverage in front of him, there was little Jefferson could do.
"I finally came to the realization that I made my mark in this league and every single game, they’re not going to let me get over 100 yards," he said. "They’re going to do whatever in their power to not let me get to that type of numbers. ... It’s definitely tough, getting one catch in the game. Wanting to be a big part of the offense, wanting to make big plays for us, and not (being) able to do that is definitely hard."
A lot of factors go into a player as talented as Jefferson having just one catch. Coverage and pressure played large roles. There may have been some opportunities out there, but either Cousins didn't target Jefferson, he didn't have enough time in the pocket to find him, or the two couldn't connect. For example, both Cousins and O'Connell acknowledged that Jefferson ended up getting open on the first interception, when Cousins tried to find tight end T.J. Hockenson over the middle of the field on fourth down.
The score got out of hand by halftime, resulting in Jefferson being removed from the game early in the fourth quarter.
"Couple times where maybe there were some opportunities for him," O'Connell said. "It just either was pressure or the ball to T.J. got tipped and intercepted on the other side of the field. Then, when we’re trying to find ways to get him the ball, we were having some footing issues. I will always look at it from the standpoint of did we have enough (opportunities)? And on the opps we tried to get for him, what were the results and why did the outcome not become what we wanted it to be for him, as it has been many times."
Alexander played well against Jefferson, continued his trash talk after the game, and will receive plenty of justified praise for helping hold the league's leading receiver to one catch. He also had quite a bit of help, both from the safeties behind him and the Packers' pass rush impacting Cousins.
"I got to the point where I solidified myself enough that if I don’t have (a productive) game, it’s not because I’m not getting open," Jefferson said. "It’s mostly because they’re doubling me or have a lot of help. It’s frustrating to deal with, but I just gotta keep playing and keep being myself."
With the playoffs just around the corner, how teams approach covering Jefferson — and what the Vikings do to counter that — will be a crucial thing to watch. As they've proven this season, there are ways to get him the ball even when he's being doubled. But to some extent, the Vikings will also need other players to step up if teams are selling out to limit Jefferson's production.
Sunday was a frustrating day for Jefferson and the Vikings, but the playoffs will provide a prime opportunity for one of the NFL's brightest stars — and his team — to bounce back.
"This is not the first time we saw coverage like this, this is not the first time he’s essentially been doubled most of the football game, if not all of the game," O'Connell said. "And he’s been productive. Probably a lot of things we’ll be able to look at the tape and improve on to make sure when we get this (coverage), as we have multiple times this year, we’ll have the ability to make some plays and come to life as an offense."
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