Paul Bretl | 11/17/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The opportunities were limited for the Packers’ offense on Sunday against the Bears, but when a spark was needed, it was Christian Watson who came through.
On the team’s third possession, facing a 2nd-and-10 and their own 23-yard line. A 17 yard completion to Watson got that drive started for the offense and eventually led to a red zone visit.
Coming out of halftime, Jordan Love found Watson for a 25-yard gain that put the Packers at the Bears’ seven-yard line. Green Bay would then score on the next play.
On the following possession, as Love is rolling to his right go buy time, he heaves the ball downfield to Watson, who in double-coverage, made an excellent adjustment to come down with the catch.
“When I started moving, the safety was kind of playing both Christian and Tucker,” said Jordan Love post-game, “and I saw Christian put his hand up that he was going deep and I thought he was beyond the safety and I think the safety did a good job as I was throwing of turning his hips and taking Christian. But anytime the ball’s in the air you love it when a receiver can go up and make that play and make you right.”
Then on the Packers final’ drive on offense, in a 2nd-and-6 from their own 26-yard line, Love completed a pass to a diving Watson over the middle. Untouched, Watson gets up and runs all the way to the Chicago 14 yard line for what ends up being a 60-yard reception.
“Phenomenal play,” said Love. “Phenomenal catch by Christian, and then just obviously the awareness to get up not being touched and to go put together a huge run, I think Christian made some big-time plays in the game, had a couple big-time catches and I’m proud of the way he balled out.”
When it was all said and done, Watson finished the game with four receptions for a hefty 150 receiving yards, averaging 37.5 yards per catch. The raw numbers themselves are impressive, but in a game where the Packers’ offense had few possessions, those receptions from Watson often helped Green Bay make the most of the opportunities they had.
Excluding the Packers kneel down before halftime, the offense had only six possessions in the entire game. While watching the game unfold it may have felt like things were clunky for the offense, and at times they were, the Packers did reach the red zone five times. Watson was responsible for putting the Packers in the red zone on three of those occasions.
“I think it was a focus for us coming into this week was to try to keep getting him the ball,” Love added, “getting him some touches, definitely a guy that we feel like we can keep trying to get him the ball and give him some of those opps down the field and obviously when we do, he had a really big catch, a contested catch, and went up and made a play. So I think it was a big time day for him.”
While the targets and opportunities were there for Watson on Sunday, that hasn’t always been the case this season. Watson entered Sunday’s game with 27 targets on the year, which is the fifth-most just on this Packers team and only four ahead of running back Josh Jacobs.
With Watson’s combination of size and speed, he is a difficult matchup for opposing defenses. And while known for his downfield ability, as we saw on that 60-yard catch and run, he can create space and win at different levels of the field.
However, even when the ball isn’t coming Watson’s way, he’s still impacting the game. Like the other Green Bay receivers, he is a relentless and very good blocker in the run game. Not to mention that with that speed he possesses, he has a gravity about him that attracts the attention of defenders, which can open up opportunities for other pass catchers, whether that be though one-on-ones or the spacing underneath Watson helps create.
Or, in short, defenses defend the Packers differently when Watson is on the field versus when he isn’t.
“I mean, it’s been a little tough just in terms of me and my individual goals, but I mean as cliché as it sounds, I’m always going to put the team goals first,” said Watson after the game. “We played some good football and some not-so-good football at times but we’re right where we want to be at as a team, so I’m just going to continue to do my part and if it’s opportunities like today, I’m going try to my best to make those plays. If it’s opportunities elsewhere, in the run game or whatnot, I’m going to make those plays, too.”
With all of the options that the Packers have in the passing game, getting everyone steadily involved is a difficult task, and perhaps an impossible one. Instead, oftentimes, it’s the gameplan given the opponent that is going to dictate on a week-to-week basis where the opportunities may lie and that can even be thrown off by how the defense defends each play and where the read takes Love as he goes through his progressions.
But for Watson, while he can’t completely control whether the ball comes his way or not, his approach each week remains the same, and whatever is needed to help the team win, he’s more than willing to do. Then, when it was his turn on Sunday, and the opportunities came Watson’s way against the Bears, he made sure to make the most of those targets, sparking several red zone trips and scoring drives for the Packers’ offense.
“I thought Christian Watson, I can’t say enough about him,” said Matt LaFleur. “Obviously, not everything has gone his way here, but he is a resilient dude. He shows up to work every day, right mentality, great work ethic. I love the guy. I love being around him.”