Star cornerback Jaire Alexander has had an up and down season, but as the Green Bay Packers advance to the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs, he is the one chuckling.
On Sunday, January 14, Alexander wrote a key defensive play that helped the Packers defeat the Dallas Cowboys on the road in a landslide. Dak Prescott of the Cowboys, pinned deep in his own territory, tried to pass to wide receiver Brandin Cooks, who Alexander was covering hard for.
After forcing Cooks to move out of position, Alexander intercepted Prescott’s pass at the 19-yard line. Although Alexander was declared down by the referees at the site of the touchdown, the cornerback stood up and raced the ball into the end zone.
Late in the first quarter, with a 7-0 lead, Green Bay took over in the red zone. Running back Aaron Jones pushed the Packers ahead two touchdowns by rushing for his second touchdown of the game by the time the second quarter arrived.
During his postgame news conference, Alexander was questioned by reporters about the interception. As usual, the cornerback responded by making light of his defeated opponent.
“Dak is now one of the few quarterbacks in my career who have thrown me multiple picks,” Alexander remarked. He’s one of my best quarterbacks, then.
Late in the second quarter, Prescott found safety Darnell Savage with his second pick of the game. Savage returned the pick 64 yards for a touchdown, increasing the Packers’ lead to 27 points.
Alexander’s ankle ailment sustained during that Wednesday’s practice and a nagging shoulder injury were reasons why Green Bay labeled him as doubtful heading into Super Wild Card Weekend.
Alexander was listed as day-to-day at that moment by head coach Matt LaFleur, who referred to the ankle injury as a “freak deal” at his news conference on Thursday.
After suffering a shoulder injury against the Los Angeles Rams on November 5, Alexander finally started and contributed significantly to a 14-point victory that was never truly in question. His total for the day was 7 tackles, 1 INT, and 1 pass defensed.
Although Alexander’s shoulder issues in early November were undoubtedly serious, there were valid concerns about his absence from the team’s following six games, even if he had only returned to practice 11 days after his first injury.
Alexander may have chosen to sit out since he never went on injured reserve, according to a December 22 report from ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. This might have been an attempt to communicate to the team about the “direction of the defense.”
Shan Shariff, presenter of the sports talk station 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, requested the ESPN reporter to complete the statement, “Jaire Alexander is…” when Demovsky arrived on the program.
“It’s all about Jaire Alexander,” stated Demovsky. “I believe he’s great when he’s fully engaged and when he wants to be there, but I’m not sure if that’s where he is right now.” For him, it’s been an extremely strange run. I could also add, “a weird dude,” to complete the statement. He’s changed as a man. Well, I still believe that he is a talented player. I simply don’t know whether he will ever be the same player that he was as an All-Pro in 2020 or 2021.
Although Alexander is now one of the free agents, there has been much conjecture in the national media, including a story from ESPN’s Adam Schefter in late December, that Green Bay might deal him at some time this offseason.
And if the Packers are to defeat the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday in the Bay, where the team is a 10-point favorite and has long been a thorn in Green Bay’s side, they will need Alexander at his best.
Max Dible covers the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Golden State Warriors for Heavy.com. Before joining Heavy, he worked as the news director for Pacific Media Group’s chain of Big Island radio stations as well as a reporter for West Hawaii Today, covering both local and state news. He also worked as the news director for BigIslandNow.com. Additional information on Max Dible
