Christian Watson waited until Thanksgiving to have the impact we were expecting
On the first play of Thanksgiving, the Green Bay Packers dialed up a deep pass for Christian Watson. He made an acrobatic catch for a 53-yard gain against the Detroit Lions.
If you told someone that in August, it wouldn't have been a surprise. Watson was a popular breakout pick coming into the season and fantasy football drafts reflected that. He flashed a lot of talent as a rookie last season and was supposed to be the Packers' No. 1 receiver.
That didn't really happen this season. Watson's slow start is exemplified by this weird stat: He set a season-high for catches in the first quarter against the Lions. It's Week 12.
Watson had four catches for 78 yards in the first 12 minutes of Thursday's game, which the Packers won 29-22. He hadn't had more than three catches in a game all season. He had only one game of 37 yards or more this season, a 91-yard game against the Las Vegas Raiders highlighted by a long catch that was notable because the Raiders took a horse-collar tackle penalty rather than letting him score.
On Thanksgiving, Watson showed up ready to eat. So did the rest of the Packers. Jordan Love continued his hot streak with three touchdowns and several impressive throws. The Packers dominated a Lions team that was 8-2 coming in and is likely to win the division. The Packers are 5-6 and while it's probably too late to make a playoff push, they're playing a lot better and it's great to see stars like Love and Watson have fantastic games.
It started early.
Watson looked great in the first quarter, showing the big-play ability that has been missing most of the season. And then in the third quarter, when the Lions got back in the game and cut Green Bay's lead to 23-14, Watson had a tremendous touchdown catch to push the lead back to 15 points.
Christian Watson is having himself a GAME 😤
5 REC | 94 YDS | 1 TD
(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/7Tim9bgrJB— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) November 23, 2023
The Packers took Watson's lead and looked as good as they've had all season. Love threw two touchdowns right away. The defense scooped a Jared Goff fumble and scored on it. The Packers led 20-6 before the first quarter was over.
This is what optimists thought the Packers could be this season. It was nice to see Green Bay and Watson show some highlight plays, even if it didn't happen much until Thanksgiving.