Vikings' Justin Jefferson - Jaire Alexander won't get inside head - ESPN

EAGAN, Minn. — The last time Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander were on the field together, Alexander mocked Jefferson's signature touchdown dance. Jefferson has a different plan for Sunday's matchup between the teams at Lambeau Field.

«He likes to do that stuff to get inside someone's head,» Jefferson said Thursday. «I'm not really tripping on that. I'm going to just get my Griddy in his end zone. So, I'm not tripping on it at all. I'm excited for the matchup.»

The annual matchups between the two heated up in Week 1 of the 2022 season, when Jefferson caught nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-7 Vikings victory. Alexander called that performance a «fluke» and then mocked Jefferson's Griddy when the Packers held him to one catch for 15 yards in their 41-17 victory in Week 17 of that season.

Jefferson didn't play in the teams' first matchup in 2023 because of a torn right hamstring, and Alexander was suspended for the second. Jefferson said Thursday that the rivalry seems to matter more to Alexander than it does to him.

«I didn't really care if he played or not,» Jefferson said. «Last year… during that time we were fighting to get back into the playoffs and to make our run. That's something that I was looking forward to. I really don't care about the matchup, honestly. I feel like he cares more of it than I do, but I mean it is what it is.

»That's every team, no [knock] at Jaire. That's every team and how they scheme up against me and how they try to play me. So, it doesn't matter if I'm going up against Jaire or if I'm going up against the worst corner in the league, it doesn't matter."

With that said, Jefferson knows that Alexander will play