The Green Bay Packers lost in embarrassing fashion to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night by the score of 34-20. To be sure, there was little good to take away from the game, considering how they were playing. That being said, Christian Watson and Aaron Jones did return, albeit in a limit capacity.
While Jones was not given the opportunity to impact the game, Watson did catch his first touchdown of the season. Of course, it was Watson’s first game of the season. He missed the Packers’ game of the season due to a hamstring injury that he suffered during the last week of training camp.
After the game, Watson talked to Sports Illustrated‘s Bill Huber about his hamstring and revealed why he almost dropped that touchdown pass from Jordan Love.
Green Bay Packers Wide Receiver Christian Watson Talks About His Touchdown Catch from Jordan Love
Watson caught a wide open touchdown from Love in the third quarter of the Packers’ loss to the Lions. Despite being wide open, Watson almost dropped the ball, as can be seen in the replay:
Welcome back Christian Watson. Touchdown pic.twitter.com/1ZKoxbMTN1
— Lily Zhao (@LilySZhao) September 29, 2023
Despite bobbling the ball, Watson was able to maintain control and plant both of his feet in bounds for the score.
On why he almost dropped the pass, Watson told Huber:
“I was kind of just drifting to the sideline and I kind of felt it at the last second, so I peeked back a little bit when the ball was in the air, so it made it a little awkward, but we’re good.”
In Watson’s first game last year, he dropped a wide open pass from former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers that almost surely would have been a touchdown. That play defined Watson’s season for over the half the year until he broke out scoring eight touchdowns in four games later in the year.
While insignificant in the grand scheme of the game (the Packers still lost), it cannot be understated how important holding onto that ball was. If he had dropped it, fans and analysts would still be talking about it and comparing it to last season’s Week One loss to the Vikings.
Christian Watson Opens Up About His Injured Hamstring
As mentioned, the loss to the Lions was the first game Watson played this year due to his hurt hamstring. He played 26 snaps, far from the usual amount he would play if he were 100% healthy. Huber asked Watson how his hamstring was feeling now, a couple of days after the game, and if he feels he will be able to play more in Week Five against the Las Vegas Raiders. He responded:
“I feel good after the game. I feel good today. Now, I’ve just got to keep on stacking those reps. I definitely feel like I’m in a good spot.”
The Packers’ offense is certainly better with Watson on the field. It was hard to see due to the struggles of the injured offensive line, but Watson brings an added dynamic that makes the passing game so much more of a threat.
Green Bay does not play again until Monday, October 9. Hopefully the long break between games will give several players a chance to get healthy so that a better product can be put on the field.
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