Jaire Alexander Did the Thing
Coming into this season, Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander secured the bag. He was paid as one of the best corners in the league. Despite Green Bay’s lackluster season as a whole, Alexander has been a bright spot. Talking a lot of smack coming into the week, he made his presence felt early.
Looking to establish himself for the Vikings offense in a game he needed to start strong, Justin Jefferson was not targeted until Minnesota’s fourth possession. On the route, he didn’t wind up hauling in the pass, and Jaire Alexander found that a perfect opportunity to bust out The Griddy.
Jaire Alexander Did the Thing
Despite NFL rules for taunting all over the place this season, this seemed like an instance it should have been called. Alexander danced over the talented Vikings wide receiver, and the celebration was clearly directed at him. Beyond that 15-yard penalty, though, it’s equally or more surprising that a Vikings teammate didn’t send Alexander back to the earth.
Following the opening kickoff, both Packers and Vikings players found themselves in a bit of a skirmish. It was clear this version of the rivalry game was going to be tightly contested. The Packers are still playing for their playoff lives, and Minnesota would’ve loved an opportunity to end their divisional opponents’ season.
From the get-go, Alexander was out to do damage against Minnesota’s top receiving option, and he won the head games early. Jefferson was later seen nearly hitting a referee after taking off his helmet in disgust. Knowing he had personal and team accolades on the line in this one, getting shut down by a guy who had run his mouth all week couldn’t have been a good feeling.
Maybe the Vikings wouldn’t have appreciated a 15-yard personal foul penalty so early in the game, but a big lineman shoving Alexander on his butt following the cute celebration certainly would’ve sent a message. Then again, Jefferson and Kirk Cousins could’ve accomplished a similar feat by connecting at least once in the first half.
Going catchless certainly wasn’t part of the plan, and there’s no doubt it would give Alexander plenty of momentum going into the second half. Jefferson couldn’t afford for this contest against the Packers to be a complete flop regarding his tracking down single-season records, and for as much as Alexander talked the talk, he certainly walked the walk as well.
No one in Minnesota’s locker room should’ve felt ok with how the first half went in Green Bay, and maybe no one flopped more than Jefferson. On the flip side, Alexander put as big of a target on himself as one could possibly due, and yet he showed up to face the music in arguably the most impressive way possible.
It’s not likely that we see many of these types of halves for Jefferson throughout his career, but you don’t have to guess whether this is one he wants to forget.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
You must be logged in to post a comment.