Vikings' Justin Jefferson dismisses Packers' Jaire Alexander: "Nobody is really worried about him"
MINNEAPOLIS -- With Aaron Rodgers now gone to the Big Apple, the new age of the Minnesota Vikings-Green Bay Packers rivalry is upon us.
The focal point has shifted to Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Both are exceptional players at their positions, with Jefferson ranked No. 2 and Alexander ranked No. 26 in the recent NFL Top 100 list.
The spark of this particular rivalry actually began late last season, when Alexander called Jefferson's Week 1 performance against the Packers - where he had nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns - a fluke.
During the Week 16 matchup, Alexander further fanned the flames by doing a griddy after an incomplete pass to Jefferson. Jefferson went on to bring in only one catch for 15 yards in the lopsided loss in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Alexander doubled down on his previous comments in an interview with CBS Sports earlier this month.
"That was fun. I said all week it was a fluke. So when he came into Lambeau, he thought he was gonna come in there griddying, but I was the one griddying. That's all it was. It was just fun," Alexander said.
For some context, the griddy is Jefferson's signature celebration dance that will be featured in the upcoming "Madden 23" video game.
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Alexander was later asked if there is any receiver he fears in the NFL.
"Man, to be honest, it might be nobody," he said.
Jefferson responds: "I guess we gonna see what all the talk was about"
Jefferson talked to CBS Sports on Tuesday in what may have been one of his more outspoken responses to Alexander.
First, he addressed Alexander's doubling down of the fluke comment.
"It's just him talking at the end of the day. Nobody is really worried about him," Jefferson said. "If you really see the 'mic'd up' and everything, they had they intentions to really take me out of the game. Everything about that day was to take me out the game, to not let me catch a ball, to do things to really take me out my game."
Jefferson said the numbers he put up in the first week don't just happen.
"You can't call a 180-yarder a fluke, that's something that's not a fluke. You can't just walk upon 180 yards in the NFL, especially being one of the top players," Jefferson said.
Jefferson also had something to say about Alexander's griddy.
"For him to do a griddy off an incomplete pass is very funny to me. It just goes to show you the amount of attention that he was trying to give me," Jefferson said. "Trash talking after every play, you know, things like that. It's funny to me."
Whatever you want to say about the rivalry, it'll make for some good entertainment in the upcoming season.
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"It's all good. This is a new year. We don't get to play them at home when it's cold. We get to go there early in the season when it's a little warmer. Then, they play us late in the season, primetime," Jefferson said. "So I guess we gonna see what all the talk was about. Hopefully, they don't have me double-teamed with a safety on top."
Jefferson has more catches and yards against the Packers than any other NFL team. It should be noted that the teams play each other twice a year in the NFC North - and Alexander isn't always covering Jefferson.
The Vikings take on the Packers at Lambeau Field on Oct. 29 and the Packers come to U.S. Bank Stadium on Dec. 31.
