While the All-Pro member of the Green Bay Packers cornerback crafted another elite performance on a big stage, the two other starters in the trio labored through afternoons they’d like to forget during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady might have struggled mightily with Jaire Alexander, but the six-time Super Bowl winner picked on Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan mercilessly with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line at Lambeau Field.
According to Pro Football Focus, Brady completed eight passes for 123 yards, two touchdowns and five first downs when targeting King and Sullivan in coverage.
King gave up five catches for 66 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown to Mike Evans on third down on the first drive and a 39-yard touchdown to Scotty Miller on the final play of the first half. He was also in coverage on a 9-yard completion to Evans to start the final drive and was penalized for defensive pass interference on third down a few plays later, essentially ending the contest.
Brady’s passer rating when targeting King was 140.2.
Sullivan allowed three catches for 57 yards. All three catches gained first downs on third downs, including two extending the Bucs’ opening scoring drive.
Four of Brady’s five first downs when targeting King or Sullivan came on third down.
Both cornerbacks were benefited by drops by Buccaneers receivers. Evans’ drop with King trailing in coverage took away a passing play of at least 30 yards. Tyler Johnson and Evans both dropped plays of 20 or more yards in the middle of the field against Sullivan, including one that ended up in an interception for Alexander.
Speaking of Alexander, the Packers’ All-Pro allowed just one catch for 19 yards, shutout Evans in coverage and delivered two interceptions and another pass breakup. He played predominantly on the offense’s right side. Brady completed just five passes on 14 attempts for 39 yards and two interceptions when throwing to the right side.
Where Brady found success was to the left side and down the middle. He completed 15 passes for 241 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception to the left and middle.
Even with King and Sullivan struggling, the Packers never called on veteran Tramon Williams, who was active but didn’t play.
The Packers got a shutdown performance from one-third of the cornerback group on Sunday, but the other two parts of the trio ended up being exposed as liabilities by Brady and the Bucs.
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