If there was a gray cloud looming over the massive silver lining of the Green Bay Packers’ big 27-19 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday Night Football at Lambeau Field, it was something that has become too familiar for Packers fans: a Christian Watson injury. To his hamstring. Again.
The play occurred with a little more than three minutes go in the game, on an end-around toss from Jordan Love to Watson, who turned the corner after taking the flip and gained 10 yards, taking the ball to the Chiefs’ 34-yard line. But before he made contact with anyone in a white uniform, Watson stutter-stepped and went down.
Christian Watson –
Looks like a hamstring injury mechanism, which unfortunately he’s dealt with extensively in the past.
Poor guy can’t stay healthy. Injury prone, likely time for Jayden Reed and Wicks to step up.
The broadcasters suggested that Watson might have gone down because he wanted to keep the clock rolling staying inbounds. But that was not it.
“I was stuttering because of the hammy,” he said at his locker after the game.
Staying inbounds was a goal of his, but few people know what a Christian Watson injury feels like quite like Christian Watson. He knew he had hurt his right hamstring yet again on the play, and that is why he went down.
“I mean I was just with the corner, and obviously I was just trying to stay inbounds. And I just felt the hammy give a little bit,” he said.
Christian Watson Injury Overshadowed a Big Night
It had been a brilliant outing for Watson before the play. He caught seven balls for 71 yards and two touchdowns, further cementing his status as the team’s No. 1 receiver and building his level of connection with Love.
On Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions, Watson was also effective, with five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. The back-to-back productive games came after a rough start to the season in which Watson missed the first three weeks and struggled to get into rhythm when he returned. The same thing happened in 2022, when Watson missed three of the first seven weeks of the season with the hamstring injury.
Coach Matt LaFleur’s update on the Watson injury did not sound positive.
“I don’t know,” he said in his postgame press conference. “We’ll know more tomorrow. But certainly it’s unfortunate. I think his play has taken off and that’s been a big catalyst for our offense. That touchdown catch he had versus the all-out pressure was phenomenal. Jordan did a great job of hanging in there and giving him a ball, and he went up there and was making some plays. I hope it’s not too long. He’s a dynamic player. Certainly, it took a minute for him to get going, but once he gets going, you guys see the results.”
Packers Getting Strong WR-QB Connection
Unfortunate is a good word for it because a healthy Watson gives the Packers a speed option they don’t have elsewhere on the roster. A Watson injury takes that away.
Still, Watson did not seem down after the game. Quite the opposite, he said.
“We’re fired up,” Watson said. “I think everybody in here trusted each other even when things are going bad. We’re on the other end of it now, still have that trust. Keep on building relationships in this locker room. We’re fired up.”
And his relationship with Love on the field keeps getting stronger. Who knows, maybe this time the hamstring won’t be a very big deal. Maybe he can return quickly and continue to build with Love.
He certainly had high praise for his quarterback: “The only word I can think of is extraordinary. I think that his comfortability, his confidence, his ability to make plays is just, we’re seeing it more and more every week. We knew he was special when he got the job and we saw what he was about but he is showing the world and we’re excited for him.”
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Packers Offer Concerning Update on ‘Unfortunate’ Christian Watson Injury