In Christian Watson's last game against the Chicago Bears, he tore his ACL before catching a pass. On Sunday, the script was flipped from that Week 18 disaster last season.
Watson's speed was the difference in the Green Bay Packers' 28-21 Week 14 win over their rivals. The fourth-year pro repeatedly burned the Bears' secondary, housing two long touchdowns on pivotal third downs.
"It means a lot to me for sure. Honestly, I tried not to think about it that much, but as the game was kind of getting going, it was definitely creeping in my mind a little bit," Watson said of last season's injury, via . "I'm just so thankful and blessed to be able to do what I do, and I'm glad today panned out how it did."
Watson's biggest play came deep into the third quarter after the Bears cut an 11-point deficit to three. Facing a third-and-3 at the Chicago 41, Jordan Love read the all-out blitz and checked into a slant to Watson. The speedster won off the line, snagged the perfect pass in stride and ran away from C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Watson's speed broke the angle of safety Kevin Byard trying to catch up.
"As soon as I saw Jordan make the check, honestly, I'd like to say I knew it was going to be a touchdown," Watson said. "Anytime you get man coverage, that's the mentality that we should have."
Watson led the Packers with 89 yards on four receptions with two touchdowns.
After missing the start of the season, Watson has become a difference-maker in the Packers offense. He's scored five touchdowns in the past four games. He hit the 80-plus yard mark against Detroit and Chicago, the first time he's done so in back-to-back games in his career.
It's little surprise that the Packers offense is hitting its stride as Watson becomes a bigger part of the action. The speedster's field-stretching ability opens up the entire offense, helping mitigate the fact that Tucker Kraft is no longer on the field. During their four-game win streak, the Packers have averaged 27.25 points per game after scoring fewer than 14 per tilt in their previous two losses.
Sunday's victory over the Bears gives the 9-3-1 Packers the NFC North lead with four games to play. Following a Week 15 bout against the 11-2 Broncos, Green Bay heads to Chicago for the rematch.
"Just a quick handshake," coach Matt LaFleur said of his postgame interaction with Chicago's Ben Johnson. "We'll see them again in two weeks."
