Packers film room: Taking a closer look at Justin Jefferson’s huge day

It was hardly a breakout performance, but Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was just too much for the Green Bay Packers defense in Week 11. Jefferson hauled in eight passes totaling 169 receiving yards, tying Randy Moss and JuJu Smith-Schuster for the most 100-yard games in their first two NFL seasons.

It was the most receiving yards this Green Bay defense has allowed to a single receiver all season. Jamar Chase racked up 159 yards in Week 5, but the Cincinnati Bengals still loss 25-22 in overtime.

The Packers’ pass defense has been good all year and still ranks in the top 10 even after a 341-yard game from Kirk Cousins. Cousins is having a career year, mostly thanks to his reliance on Jefferson. Jefferson is now fourth in the NFL in yards and is possibly on his way toward another All-Pro year.

Green Bay needs to use this game as a learning experience as they will have to worry about Jefferson for years to come. Maybe if Jaire Alexander is healthy and available, Jefferson’s box score looks a little different. Regardless, these two teams will meet again in Week 17, and the Packers must do a better job of containing Minnesota’s best weapon.

To get a better idea of what went into Jefferson’s huge day, let’s look at the film.

Tough to say what happened here without knowing the defensive call. The field side is in man, but King appears to be in zone and dropping into a deep 1/3. Jefferson is running a deep over and is left completely uncovered for an easy pitch and catch. Either this is a really good play call by the offense against this specific coverage, or King has a mental error that leads to a huge gain.

Looks like the Packers are in Cover 3. Darnell Savage appears to pass off the deep out to Eric Stokes, who has most of his attention on Jefferson going deep. Instead of carrying Jefferson, Stokes gets caught in no man’s land. Meanwhile, Adrian Amos is deep center field and is late to get over the top on Jefferson. Amos is possibly expecting the deep post as his leverage is heavy to the inside. If he continues his initial steps toward the right hash, he is in much better position to make the play.

Bad rep by Stokes here letting Jefferson eat up his cushion without utilizing his backpedal. Jefferson uses a nice rocker step to get Stokes turned around, and Cousins sees that Savage has his back turned to that side of the field. Perhaps Savage was trying to bait this throw, but he is late to get his head turned, and the flag is thrown. Green Bay would be smart to try and bracket Jefferson in the future with less of a gamble on their play call.

The Packers couldn’t have scouted this look because Jefferson has never lined up in the backfield before. It’s a nice wrinkle by Minnesota to allow Jefferson to run an option route. It’s third and goal at the nine, so Green Bay is playing the sticks, trying to prevent the touchdown. However, the Vikings get the look they want with Henry Black one on one with Jefferson.

Not much you can do here but tip your cap to Jefferson. Chandon Sullivan is head up on Jefferson in the slot and uses a little shoulder fake to get the inside release. From there, Jefferson continues to work upfield, and at the top of the dig route, extends his arm to get extra separation. Nicely done.

Cover 0. There is no safety help over the top, so Green Bay is putting a lot of faith in their pass rush and their cover guys to not get beat over the top. Initially, Stokes does a nice job to disrupt Jefferson’s route with a nice jam. He then continues to stay in phase with Jefferson, who is running a simple fade. Honestly, Stokes played this really well, but there wasn’t much he could do. Jefferson gives him a little push to displace his balance, and the throw is perfect and on time. Good defense but better offense.