Hamstring Takes Down Rising Watson

Thanks in part to the play of Christian Watson, who caught seven passes and scored two touchdowns, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

While they won the game, they lost one of their key players.

With about 3 minutes to play and the Packers nursing a 24-19 lead, Watson caught a little flip from quarterback Jordan Love, turned on the jets and raced around the left edge of the Chiefs’ defense.

With the first down secured, Watson gave himself up to stay inbounds and keep the clock rolling. Instead, his right hamstring gave way.

“I’ll go talk to the trainers, figure out what’s going on. But, yeah, we’ve got to get that sorted out,” Watson said.

Watson missed the first three games of the season with an injured right hamstring.

Coach Matt LaFleur said the team will get a better handle on the injury on Monday.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “I think his play has really taken off and I think that’s been a big catalyst for our offense. That touchdown catch he had vs. the all-out pressure was phenomenal. Jordan did a great job of hanging in there and giving him a ball, and he went up and he’s making some plays. So, I hope [his absence is] not too long. He’s a dynamic player and, certainly, it took a minute to get going, but, once he gets going, you guys see the results.”

Through his first seven games, Watson caught 16 passes and never more than three in a game. The last two weeks, he caught five passes for 94 yards and one touchdown at Detroit and seven passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas City. Four of his five touchdowns have come during the three-game winning streak.

“Honestly, I wish it would’ve come a little bit earlier,” Watson, discussing his hot streak, said with a smile. “But I think this year, especially, our offense has gotten in a flow and gotten in a rhythm, gotten in a groove, and it helps all of us to make plays. And I’m just fortunate to be on the receiving end of those touchdowns a couple times. But I think our offense is just doing really well right now.”

With Green Bay leading 7-3 in the second quarter, Love stepped up in the pocket and fired a dart to Watson, who was wide open in the middle of the end zone for his first touchdown. With Green Bay leading 14-12 in the third quarter, Watson made a leaping grab over Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams for his second touchdown.

“Honestly, it wasn’t great leverage,” Watson said of the second touchdown. “I just saw the ball in the air, 10 trusts me to go up and get, so I’m going to go up and get it.”

With the surging play of Love and Watson, the Packers have won three in a row and four of their last five to grab hold of the final spot in the NFC playoff race. Love recorded his league-high fourth game of three-plus touchdown passes and zero interceptions. The last three weeks, he’s slayed the Chargers’ Justin Herbert, the Lions’ Jared Goff and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes behind eight touchdowns and zero interceptions.

“It was extraordinary,” Watson said of Love’s performance. “I think his confidence and his comfortability back there is top tier. I’m excited to continue to watch him grow because I think we’ve seen a lot of out of him, but I think we’ve still got a lot to see, as well.”

Watson was the only noteworthy injury for the Packers, who listed running back Aaron Jones (knee) and cornerback Jaire Alexander (shoulder) among their inactives.