Not only for his big-play ability downfield but the Green Bay Packers offense as a whole missed having Christian Watson’s presence on Monday night against the New York Giants.
In the last two games prior to his injury, Watson was coming on strong, recording 12 receptions for 165 total yards and three touchdowns. Among all receivers during that two-game span, Watson ranked first in receptions of 20-plus yards and first in touchdowns as well.
However, beyond the obvious production that Watson brings to the Packers’ passing game, him simply being on the field carries a weight that others on this team just don’t have–or at least not as of now.
“It’s one of those things that is a challenge certainly any time you take his speed off the field. I think we all felt that last night. So it’ll be great, hopefully sooner than later to get him back. Musgrave is another guy that they tilt the field a little bit different with their vertical speed. It’s a little added stress on a defense.”
Even when the ball isn’t coming Watson’s direction, there is a gravity that he possesses drawing defenders near him because of his size, speed, and playmaking abilities. This can create more one-on-one opportunities for others, and in general, more spacing to operate within with defenses mindful of where Watson is on the field while also being more guarded against downfield pass attempts.
Not surprisingly, with Watson playing his best football as of late, Love has also been one of the more effective downfield passers as well. During Green Bay’s three-game winning streak, Love ranked third in completions of 20 or more yards, fifth in total yards on such passes, and first in touchdowns.
On Monday, however, Love’s deep ball efficiency regressed and looked similar to what we had seen from the offense through the early portion of the season. According to PFF, Love was only 1-for-5 on downfield passes, with an interception.
Overall, whether a deep pass or not, Green Bay struggled to create chunk plays in the passing game, with only two of Love’s 39 attempts going for more than 20 yards, and neither of those receptions belonged to a receiver but rather went to AJ Dillon on a checkdown and Tucker Kraft over the middle. As LaFleur often says, chunk plays lead to points, and the ability to do so has been a key factor in the Packers’ recent success.
In part, from the start of the game, Love was off, and he and his receivers were not on the same page in several instances. But also, without Watson to contend with, the Giants had a game plan in place to limit Green Bay’s ability to effectively push the ball downfield.
“I think they did a good job playing on top of everything,” said Love after the game, “all of our deeper concepts. Gave us some of the checkdowns to get some of the big plays out of it. But they did a good job trying to stay on top of stuff.”
The timetable for Watson’s return is still unknown. He did not practice at all last week, but when speaking with reporters, Watson mentioned that he didn’t believe this hamstring injury was as severe as what he was dealing with in the early portion of the season when he missed three games.
As we’ve seen over the last month-plus, there are other playmakers at the receiver position for the Packers–although there isn’t anyone else on the roster who can duplicate what Watson does. The quicker he returns, the better off the offense will be, even when the ball isn’t going in his direction.
“We’ve got other guys in that room that we’re confident with,” added LaFleur. “We just got to make sure you gotta run in this game. You can’t have any hesitation in your play. There were times where we were a little hesitant and you can feel that on defense. You can feel when someone is not really running. We’ve just got to keep stressing and I think our guys will learn from this and be better for it.”
