GREEN BAY, Wis. – How will the Green Bay Packers’ injury-plagued secondary cope with Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson?

With premier cornerback Jaire Alexander and starting safety Evan Williams out and safety Javon Bullard questionable for Sunday’s Packers-Vikings showdown at US Bank Stadium, that’s the million-dollar question.

But according to defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, that’s not quite the right question.

“When we defend the pass and Justin Jefferson and all those good wideouts and Sam Darnold, it’s not just about getting it on the DBs,” Hafley said Thursday. “The question is, ‘What can we do as a defense to make sure we play well back there?’

“We run well, we pressure, we make good plays, we fall into different zones, right? We’re very proud of how we’re obfuscating things at the moment. The players are very proud of that at the moment. So we’re doing it together, and I think that’s the biggest key to everything right now.”

This is how the Packers won in Seattle a few weeks ago. The Seahawks have a quality veteran quarterback in Geno Smith, an experienced receiver in DK Metcalf, an impressive young receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba and a solid veteran in Tyler Lockett.

Against a Packers secondary that played without Alexander and Bullard, Smith was 15 of 19 passes for 149 yards. However, he threw one interception and was sacked three times in about two and a half quarters. He led the Seahawks to just two field goals.

For Hafley, it wasn’t just that Keisean Nixon rose to the occasion or that Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes played well, although those are true.

The pass rush accounted for seven sacks and generated pressure on more than half of Seattle’s dropbacks.

The Seahawks completed 20 passes; The Packers gave up 54 yards after the catch.

“I think it’s something to look at because it’s not because of how the secondary did it,” Hafley said. “We did it as a team and as a defense, and I think that’s the biggest thing we’re showing these guys right now.”

However, the Vikings’ offense is better than Seattle’s. Quarterback Sam Darnold has rewritten the history of his career in less than five months, and few teams can match the Vikings’ perimeter firepower.

Darnold had a passer rating above 100 in 12 of 15 games. Darnold threw ten interceptions in the first nine games. Similar to Green Bay’s Jordan Love, he has only thrown one pitch in the last six years.

Jefferson is No. 1 in NFL history in receiving yards per game. This season, he is second with 1,387 receiving yards and fourth with 10 receiving touchdowns.

While Green Bay’s defense bounced back from the loss in Detroit, allowing just one touchdown in the last two games, Minnesota’s offense is also coming into its own.

In the last six games, Darnold has thrown 15 touchdowns and just one interception. Jefferson and Jordan Addison combine to average 177.3 yards per game and 11 total touchdowns. In that span, Darnold was 29 of 38 in the red zone with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Jefferson and Addison are an elite receiver tandem, Aaron Jones has nearly 1,400 total yards and tight end TJ Hockenson, who was recovering from a torn ACL when the Vikings beat the Packers in Week 4, has 34 in eight games since returning The lineup achieves receptions.

However, Jefferson is the real gamebreaker. His 7,069 receiving yards are the most for a player in his first five seasons in NFL history. His 26 receptions for 20 yards are six more than any other player and just two fewer than the entire Giants roster. In passes thrown over 20 yards, he ranks third with 13 receptions, second with 483 yards and fourth with four touchdowns, according to PFF.

“Justin is a unique mover in terms of some of the things he can do when transitioning out of routes — sometimes at full speed — and he makes cuts that a lot of guys can’t,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said this week.

In Jefferson’s final two home games against the Packers with his starting quarterback, he caught eight passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns in 2021 and nine receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns in 2022.

However, against Seattle, the Packers held the impressive Metcalf to three catches for 28 yards.

“They’re playing really well overall as a team,” Phillips said. “There aren’t many defeats in this league, especially this year with all the close games – a record in my opinion – but they play well on both sides. Defensive, strong at the front. Safeties are really good players, I know Jaire is injured, but the other corners did a really good job. I always loved Nixon as a nickel. So they have a lot of weapons for defense.”

Of course, these Jefferson plays came against Joe Barry’s defense. Since the bye, Green Bay is seventh in opponent passer rating. They were third in their last three games.

“I think Jeff Hafley did a lot of really good things with his defense,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “The intelligence of their defensive team shows on tape, how they play, how they dress, why they do certain things they do. It’s impressive what they’ve accomplished on that side of the ball.”

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