Jaire Alexander has reflected on a challenging period in his NFL career, detailing his departure from the Packers and a tough debut with the Ravens.
Alexander had been released by the Packers a few months prior to joining the Ravens. He was determined to prove he was still an All-Pro caliber corner.
The Pressure of Sunday Night Football
Alexander recalls the pressure of playing against Josh Allen and the Bills on Sunday Night Football. The game had been circled on his calendar all summer, with Alexander feeling the need to show the world his All-Pro ability.
He felt he needed to leave no doubt, with anyone.
However, a PCL injury and subsequent surgery the previous year continued to cause problems. Alexander underwent a stem-cell procedure in Atlanta three weeks before kickoff to try and speed up his recovery, but was unable to walk on his own for three days afterwards. Time was flying by and he was still having knee pain.
During the week of practice before the game, it became clear he wasn’t ready to be out on the field. He was trying to will his way through, constantly telling himself: You’re the best corner in the league! You’re good! You’ll do fine. And then….
Physical Struggles and Mental Impact
Alexander admits that physically, he wasn’t where he needed to be for that Sunday night game against Buffalo, which affected his mental state.
The Ravens had put him on a pitch count, limiting him to 25 plays as the dime package guy. During warmups, he knew he wasn’t at his best.
He recalls Rodney Harrison asking him how he was feeling. Alexander’s response was unlike him, admitting his knee wasn’t feeling the best but they were going to see how it went. He felt like he might be in for a rough night.
A Nightmare Performance Against the Bills
Despite some wishful thinking before kickoff, Alexander exceeded his pitch count of 25 snaps. He describes his performance as the worst game he’s ever played.
Even knowing he wasn’t at his best, he never thought what happened in that game would’ve been possible. It was like some nightmare come to life.
He remembers one play before halftime where Josh Allen threw the ball across the middle on his side. On any other day, Alexander believes he would have intercepted that ball and taken it the other way. But he didn’t push off and drive to the ball fast enough, so he was late getting there. Instead of picking it off and getting a clean break like he normally would, he and the receiver collided, and the receiver made the catch.
From there, things snowballed, and after a few more mistakes, his confidence faltered. He describes messing up all over the place, with guys getting behind him and missing tackles. He recalls getting a pass interference penalty on a fourth down in the second half where he was literally two steps behind the receiver.