While there was plenty of blame to go around following the Green Bay Packers’ 25-24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons over the weekend, cornerback Jaire Alexander deserved his fair share following one of the worst games of his career. Alexander owned up to his sub-par performance following the game. But the Packers will need improved performance from the Pro Bowl defender soon, especially with a daunting slate of wideouts on the upcoming schedule.
Usually a sure-handed playmaker by defensive back standards, Alexander dropped a sure-fire interception that could have been a touchdown going the other way midway through the second quarter. The play came on fourth down, so Green Bay ended up with the ball anyways. Still, a turnover with some return yards there puts the Packers in better field position while also potentially rattling a young quarterback like Desmond Ridder.
After Green Bay settled for a field goal, Ridder drove right back down the field to pull the Falcons within one. Drake London was Alexander’s primary coverage responsibility was second-year standout. London won this particular round, punctuated by a short touchdown catch in which he simply bullied the cornerback out of the space that London wanted, turning to catch a bullet from Ridder.
In a vacuum, it’s one play on one drive in one game. However, there’s a psychological aspect as well. While both players are only in their second year, Ridder and London had no qualms with going up against the highest-paid cornerback in the league in a spot where Atlanta needed an answer.
“Man, I don’t know,” Alexander said after the game when asked about the missed interception. “Just didn’t catch it. I didn’t even see him throw it. I didn’t see him, but I seen the ball and it was — I should’ve caught it. … I always want to be perfect and I always want to be the best, and I didn’t display that today. Yup, I am a little frustrated. But, nobody’s perfect.”
It wasn’t a disastrous performance by the 2018 first-round pick. But on a day where Green Bay needed someone to step up, Alexander wasn’t able to do so. Stats like quarterback rating can usually be taken with at least a grain or two of salt; they’re not always all-encompassing. Still, you’d rather not have the opposing quarterback have a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting your All Pro corner. Whether it was the dropped interception, a missed pass break up, or something else to give a jolt to a struggling unit, it simply wasn’t happening on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
While the hope is that this performance was a one-week aberration, Alexander shouldn’t anticipate many easy days at the office with the upcoming slate of pass catchers on the schedule. The Packers come home this weekend but will have to face another dynamic second-year wideout in the New Orleans Saints’ Chris Olave. Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff would love nothing more than to pile up stats at Lambeau in Week 4. And old friend Davante Adams and the Las Vegas Raiders await Green Bay in Las Vegas on Monday Night Football.
Such challenges come with the territory, and there are plenty more that await (including two games against Justin Jefferson). If the Packers are going to have success this season, the defense is going to need to take a step up over previous seasons, especially with the way that injuries have been trending on the offensive side of the ball. Sunday’s game against New Orleans will be important for the psyche of the team, moving either to 2-1 with a home-opening win, or falling behind the eight ball at 1-2 and looking to climb out of that hole against a divisional opponent.
One game in September won’t make or break the season, but an All Pro performance from Alexander in Week 3 at home would be a welcome sight. New Orleans will be coming in at 2-0 in the Derek Carr era, and Jaire Alexander can have a big say in dictating how things play out at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
