Packers wide receiver Christian Watson‘s start to Sunday’s game against the Cowboys felt like another chapter in an unhappy rookie season, but he and the team were able to turn things around.
Watson opened his NFL career by dropping a would-be touchdown against the Vikings and he had two more drops early in Sunday’s game to add to the misery that the Packers have experienced this season. Watson’s day would get much better, however.
Watson caught a 58-yard touchdown from Aaron Rodgers to get the Packers on the scoreboard and then added two more touchdowns in the second half of a 31-28 overtime victory. Head coach Matt LaFleur said “the resiliency that he showed” was a microcosm of the fight that the team showed in ending their losing streak and Rodgers thought the touchdowns were an exorcism of sorts for the second-round pick.
“We had a lot of plays designed for him, so I don’t think there was any other option,” Rodgers said, via Jason Wilde of the Wisconsin State Journal. “I think that [first touchdown] probably on the atomic level shifted a lot of different things for him, exorcising some energetic demons. I’m proud of him. He made some plays.”
Sunday’s win didn’t erase all that’s gone wrong for the Packers this season, but it leaves them with a 4-6 record and gives them a chance to work their way back up the standings. More outings like this one for Watson would boost their chances of going on that kind of run.