Rushed to the Hospital, Then Back to Win It: Christian Watson's Wild Night
Christian Watson's Thursday night could've ended in the first half. The Packers receiver took a hit to the chest and was taken away in an ambulance for precautionary tests. Most people figured that was it for him. Instead, he came back in the third quarter and helped Green Bay close out a 27–19 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football.
Watson finished with eight catches on 10 targets for 113 yards, including a 53-yarder, and one of his second-half grabs helped seal the win. Afterwards, he kept it simple: "I never wanted to go."
Green Bay didn't have a clean game. The Packers fumbled the opening kickoff, setting up a Carolina field goal, and Watson fumbled the ball, giving the Panthers the ball deep in Packers territory. Rookie Matthew Golden dropped what should've been a 24-yard touchdown, then caught a 24-yarder later, finishing with seven catches for 79 yards.
Jordan Love was sharp, going 30 of 41 for 288 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Josh Jacobs scored twice, once on the ground and once through the air, though the running game is still a problem. He needed 21 carries to get just 39 yards. The defence picked up the slack with six sacks of Bryce Young, who threw for 209 yards. Carolina made it interesting late when Jalen Coker caught a 26-yard touchdown on fourth down with 5:35 left, but the two-point try failed.
Green Bay is now 5–3 and bouncing back after last week's last-second loss in Detroit. Carolina falls to 3–4 and could lose its grip on the NFC South lead this weekend.