Sunday’s overtime win over the Dallas Cowboys would not have been possible without Christian Watson‘s remarkable performance. The rookie receiver hauled in three touchdown passes to help lift the Green Bay Packers to a 31-28 win at Lambeau Field. Not only was the performance a coming-out party for the second-round draft pick, but the way in which Watson was utilized was the missing element to help bring balance to what still appears to be a potent offense.
Watson’s career day began with an inauspicious start, dropping two passes on Green Bay’s opening drive that went from promising to punting in no time flat. The first drop came on a ball over the middle that Aaron Rodgers absolutely expects any of his receivers to reel in. However, the second was a much harder ball that needed to be dug out from just above the turf, but Watson was unsuccessful on both attempts. He could have easily hung his head with the thought of here we go again running through his mind. Instead of ignoring the rookie and looking elsewhere, Rodgers kept the faith in the talented speedster, which paid dividends as the game progressed.
The first touchdown, with just under five minutes left in the first half, was the shot-play touchdown that had been missing from the Packers’ offense since — well, since Watson dropped a walk-in touchdown on the very first offensive play of the season against the Minnesota Vikings. It was a picturesque play-action pass by Rodgers on third-and-1, a position where he loves to take a shot downfield, almost to his detriment sometimes. It wasn’t the pat-the-ball-and-climb-the-pocket play that developed slowly. Rather, it was a recognition of single coverage, and a plant and rip down the right side to Watson, who had a step on his defender and tracked the ball all the way into his hands. Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown hit the turf at the 12-yard line. Watson waltzed into the end zone and punctuated the play with a backflip.
This type of play was encouraging in how it was reeled in. With visions of the dropped pass in Week 1 still seared into the Packers fans’ collective memory, it becomes a fitting first career receiving touchdown for Watson. However, the second touchdown reception by the rookie might be more indicative of what Watson’s physical skills can bring to the offense.
On fourth-and-7 early in the fourth quarter, Rodgers found Watson in stride moving laterally across the secondary for a 39-yard touchdown pass, with the rookie sprinting right past the nickel back DaRon Bland and free safety Malik Hooker in the process. In his postgame press conference, Watson talked about recognizing the inside leverage forcing his route to alter vertically, which Rodgers anticipated for a must-have conversion. Watson mentioned being able to “win with speed across the field,” which is what he is uniquely capable of doing within this offense.
Before Watson’s first touchdown, the longest play for Green Bay this season was a 55-yard catch-and-run by Sammy Watkins to help seal the Week 2 victory over the Chicago Bears. That type of deep presence has not been consistent for the Packers this season. Watson is the only player with that ability in his skillset, and he’s struggled to say on the field due to injury. After seeing 66% of the snaps in Week 1, he has seen a high of 32% in the weeks leading up to Sunday. His eight targets against Dallas were far and away his highest total of the season.
The limitations of the receiving corps are well documented, but the lingering unknown entering Week 10 was exactly what Watson could provide. As he mentioned, winning with speed is the payoff. But the commitment to the run that the Packers showed can’t be overlooked. While Watson’s highlights will make the rounds and be rightfully celebrated, Aaron Jones tallied a season-high 24 carries, and A.J. Dillon had 13 carries of his own. The duo’s 37 totes marked a season-high. The 203 combined yards were a byproduct of an early focus on the run game within Matt LaFleur’s game script and a manner in which Green Bay controlled the clock.
The total numbers for Jones and Dillon are great, but what’s most important there is the efficiency in which they were able to do it. Jones had a 30-yard run, and Dillon’s longest was 17 yards. But other than that, it was rumbling little by little, as both backs averaged better than five yards per carry for the game. Jones, in particular, was stellar (as he usually is against Dallas), punishing the Cowboys for more yards than the numbers would anticipate time and time again.
With the run game clicking consistently, the variable that is the two-time defending MVP Aaron Rodgers truly comes into play. Defenses will bring more players closer to the line of scrimmage to help stop the run, and they have done that effectively this season without needing to worry about a skillset like Watson’s. It’s impractical to take a shot to Watson on every play, so the Packers must carefully consider how they dole out those chances. Using Watson to run across the face of the defense and allowing his natural gifts to win out adds to how he can be effective. Rodgers is the best at recognizing when his wideouts have a matchup that the quarterback deems to be in the Packers’ favor. For the first time this season, Watson proved Rodgers correct.
As fans have been clamoring for all season, the Green Bay offense should absolutely begin with the horses wearing No. 33 and No. 28 in the backfield and build from there. Sunday showed a more complete version of the offense, which is predicated on the success of the run game and the capitalization of opportunistic chances to stretch the field vertically. It sounds so basic when spelled out, but it has proved difficult in execution. If the Packers can unearth more of that give-and-take as the season progresses, there’s a chance that all hope might not be lost.
