With nickel back Brian Williams inactive for the playoff game last season, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers appeared to target his replacement, Christopher Owens, who struggled in coverage.
Owens beat out Dominique Franks in an open competition during training camp, but the Falcons signed veteran cornerback Kelvin Hayden on Sept. 1. Hayden has split the nickel-back duty with Owens in two games this season. He didn’t play in the opener against Chicago and missed the third game against Tampa Bay with a hamstring injury.
Rodgers contends that Owens, who was returning from a back injury, was not targeted in the playoff game, the worst playoff loss in Falcons history.
“We made some plays,” Rodgers said. “I feel like he covered pretty well. There were just a couple plays where we fit the ball in certain spots. Atlanta is not an exclusive man-to-man coverage team. To say we targeted one guy or another is not entirely accurate.
“We just wanted to stretch the field at times and take what we could when they were playing soft.”
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