The Green Bay Packers’ incredible comeback victory over the Chicago Bears had everyone in awe of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Packers fans rose to their feet in anticipation at Lambeau Field as No. 12 trudged out of the tunnel after halftime. On essentially one leg, Rodgers produced one of the finest performances of his legendary career, leading the Packers back from 20 points down to win the Week 1 showdown.

That’s not news to most of us though, as Rodgers regularly leaves fans thinking, ‘How did he just do that?’

That said, the win couldn’t have happened without a stellar second half from Mike Pettine’s defense. After a shaky start, the defense gave up a meager six points during the final two quarters.

A part of the historic win was the performance of a few rookie contributors. Both Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson played key roles in shutting down the Bears in the second half. Both players are trending up in this week’s rookie stock report.

Stock up

CB Jaire Alexander: 49 defensive snaps, 10 special teams snaps

Alexander had three tackles and was all over the field, playing as a key contributor on both defense and special teams.

He was in coverage on a 33-yard pass to Allen Robinson in the first quarter. Even though it was a play that might not look great on the stat sheet, Alexander was in excellent position to make an impact but failed to get his head around in time. He more than likely would’ve had a pass breakup had he swiveled his head as soon as Robinson started raising his arms to make the catch.

The only other pass he allowed to be caught was a 5-yard completion to Anthony Miller in the third quarter.

Alexander was also in coverage on Mitchell Trubisky’s late third-down incompletion on the Bears’ second-to-last drive and the negated fourth-down incompletion on the final drive. Pettine switching Alexander to Tarik Cohen helped take away the Bears’ speedy running back in the second half.

Overall, it was a promising debut for the Packers’ first-round pick.

CB Josh Jackson: 46 defensive snaps, 11 special teams snaps

The Packers star-to-be was listed as a starter, although he was essentially just in the specified defensive package at the beginning of the game. After giving up a 13-yard completion early in the first quarter, Jackson only allowed one more completion for minus-one yard the rest of the game. His biggest task was covering tight end Trey Burton, whom he held to no catches. Like Alexander, he also finished with three tackles. He also had one hurry after blitzing Trubisky from the slot in the second half.

It’s possible Jackson will eventually return a few punts. He worked with the punt returners during pre-game warmups. However, the Packers turned to Randall Cobb to replace injured returner Trevor Davis. The Bears punted only four times with just one opportunity for a return.

Steady

LS Hunter Bradley, 8 special teams snaps

Bradley took eight special teams snaps – literally – providing sufficient snaps to punter JK Scott to hold for Mason Crosby’s field goal and extra point attempts. He also had four snaps to Scott, who punted the same amount for a net average of 48.0 yards. Overall, there isn’t much to analyze here, as it’s pretty cut and dry. For now, Bradley’s stock remains neutral until we see more reps.

LB James Crawford, 15 special teams snaps

He was unquestionably the biggest surprise to make the final roster, but GM Brian Gutekunst said his preseason performance against the Kansas City Chiefs was one of the ‘best special teams performances’ the team had seen in a long time. Clearly, it was enough to warrant a roster spot.

Crawford built upon that foundation by logging 15 snaps on special teams against the Bears. His performance didn’t stand out by any means, but he also didn’t make any grave mistakes that cost his team a big play. Like Bradley, we’ll need more reps to form a valid opinion on Crawford.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, 2 offensive snaps, 11 special teams snaps

On his only real opportunity, Marquez Valdes-Scantling had one kick return for 21 yards. He also played two offensive snaps, albeit mainly as a decoy. Overall, he had an OK game, but as a rookie receiver it’s hard to catch on fast. Besides that, he’s buried on a depth chart littered with receiving talent. Valdes-Scantling has game-changing speed, but speed isn’t the only thing a receiver needs. For now, his stock remains stagnant.

Stock down

WR Equanimeous St. Brown, 0 total snaps

Although he was listed as active, Eqanimeous St. Brown failed to see the field in any capacity on Sunday night. Fellow rookie receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling at least saw the field on special teams – a huge asset to a rookie’s potential upside. The Packers were in a dire situation, however, so take St. Brown’s final snap count with a grain of salt. With J’Mon Moore being inactive, perhaps the Packers will rotate St. Brown and Moore on the game day rosters.

Inactives

J’Mon Moore, Oren Burks, Raven Greene, Tim Boyle, Alex Light

Snaps counts provided by Pro Football Reference.

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