Jaire Alexander puts blame on Packers defense because of young offense

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander says the defense needs to shoulder the team until the offense can grow up. However, his goal may not be realistic.

Alexander spoke to the media following Green Bay’s 17-13 loss to the Raiders Monday night at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Getting to Vegas is the ultimate prize for any team this season since Allegiant Stadium is the Super Bowl site. But the Packers (and Raiders) are so far from that it probably shouldn’t be mentioned.

Alexander now thinks the Packers defense can’t give up much of anything during a game for the foreseeable future.

“I think at this point it’s pretty obvious that the defense has to not give up any touchdowns,” Alexander said in post-game. “I think that’s the part of being self-critical of our defense because the offense is pretty young, and they’re still figuring out their mojo. So the defense, we’ve got to be the ones to score and stop them from scoring.”

You’d think only allowing 17 points would be winning football. Now consider that Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw three interceptions. That means Green Bay’s defense also had to be exceptional at sudden change. On Monday, the three picks led to only a Raiders field goal. The defense did allow Jimmy Garoppolo and the Raiders offense two long touchdown drives of 62 and 75 yards.

Meanwhile, Rudy Ford‘s pick of Garoppolo set up the Packers for their only touchdown drive of the game.

Overall, the defense did well. The Packers sacked Garoppolo four times, hit him six times and also forced him into an interception. Josh Jacobs, who won the NFL rushing title last season, ran for only 69 yards on 20 carries. He did score a touchdown. Former Packers receiver Davante Adams was limited with a shoulder injury. He caught four passes for 45 yards. But three of them came on what proved to be the winning TD drive.

“There’s always plays where you can be better, plays where it could tilt a game,” said Packers defensive lineman Kenny Clark. “I’m proud about how we played and how we fought. We gave up 17. We did a good job there, but at the end of the day, we still gotta find that consistency because some of those plays shouldn’t have been as big as they were. (And) we gotta just fix it.”

The Packers have a bye this Sunday. They next play the Broncos on the road in Denver, Oct. 22. Bye weeks can be very good for helping a young quarterback reset his game. And some key offensive players also can heal up. Running back Aaron Jones missed the start Monday night after reaggravating a strained hamstring that’s bothered him all season. Receiver Christian Watson also still is nursing a tender hamstring. Still, he caught three passes for 92 yards against the Raiders.