Green Bay Packers: Jaire Alexander shines in heartbreaking loss

Rookie cornerback Jaire Alexander was the star of the show for the Green Bay Packers defense on Sunday.

The Green Bay Packers may have come up short to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any bright spots.

Despite falling short by a score of 29-27 due to a late Ty Montgomery-fumble, the Packers’ defense looked extremely impressive against the high-powered Rams’ offense. Led by rookie standout Jaire Alexander, Green Bay held the Rams below their season averages in every major statistical category.

Coming into the game, Los Angeles was averaging 446.4 total yards per game, second-most in the entire league. The Packers held them to 416 yards. Within that, Green Bay allowed 281 passing yards and 135 rushing yards, both lower amounts than LA’s season averages of 293.3 passing yards (seventh) and 153.1 rushing yards (first).

Perhaps the biggest factor in the Packers’ success against Jared Goff and the Rams offense was the return of Alexander, who had missed the last three games with a groin injury.

In his first game back, Alexander finished second on the team in tackles (7) and recorded a whopping five pass breakups. There were several times he was in perfect position to make a play on the ball, which proved even more important considering who he was tasked with covering.

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For nearly the entire game, defensive coordinator Mike Pettine placed his full trust in his rookie cornerback, placing him across from the Rams No. 1 receiver and resident deep threat, Brandin Cooks.

Cooks has long been known for his incredible speed, and Alexander might be the only player on the entire Packers roster who could keep up with him. Not only that, but Cooks is a superb route-runner, which makes him all the more harder to mirror in coverage.

But that wasn’t a problem for Green Bay’s most recent No. 1 draft choice. Cooks finished with just three receptions for 74 yards, as Alexander kept LA’s No. 1 receiver in check for most of the game.

His most impressive play against Cooks came on a deep pass in the endzone in the first half. Cooks ran a deep post as Alexander shadowed him step for step for fifty-plus yards down the field. As the pass arrived, Alexander reached high above his opposition, nearly intercepting the ball in the process.

It wasn’t just in coverage that he showed off his skills, either. Alexander was sent on exotic blitzes on a few instances and showed an aggressiveness in his tackling that many cornerbacks lack. At 5-10, 195 pounds, he plays far above his size, never shying away from contact. This could be both a blessing and a curse going forward.

Although many Packers fans are down in the dumps at the moment, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about this team. A narrow two-point loss to the NFL’s only undefeated team wasn’t exactly the worst possible outcome.

In addition to that, the Packers defense was clearly up to the task of playing the NFL’s best offense, led by rookie corner Jaire Alexander. Green Bay is undoubtedly a different team whenever Alexander is on the field; a superstar in the making.