Green Bay Packers: 3 X-Factors against Struggling Jaguars
By Paul Bretl
Kevin King/Josh Jackson
Once again, this is an either-or situation. I’m 100 percent reading the tea leaves here, but the fact that after nearly a week off, Jaire Alexander still didn’t return to practice on Wednesday, I’m skeptical that he will play on Sunday. That means if Kevin King is back – he was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday – he will have to cover the dangerous D.J. Chark. And if King can’t go, then that responsibility will fall on Josh Jackson.
Last season, Chark had over 1,000 receiving yards with eight touchdowns, and he is on a similar trajectory this year. Through Jacksonville’s eight games, he has hauled in just over 62 percent of his targets for 437 yards at 13.2 yards per catch with four touchdowns. Chark is a legit deep threat, with 15 targets coming 20 or more yards downfield – the ninth most in football – and 224 of his yards – the 10th most – coming on deep passes as well.
Even if Alexander can’t play, moving the ball through the air could still prove difficult for this Jaguars’ offense. However, if they are going to find any success in the passing game, it’s going to be because of D.J. Chark.