Christian Watson Returns from Hospital, Packers Beat Panthers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With 9 minutes left in the second quarter on Thursday night, Christian Watson caught one of those majestic deep passes from Jordan Love. It was a beautiful throw and a beautiful catch.

And a violent ending as Watson and cornerback Will Lee IV tumbled to the turf, with Lee falling on Watson. Both players stayed on the turf for a couple minutes before Watson – in full uniform – stepped into an ambulance to go to a hospital for testing.

The Green Bay Packers trailed the Carolina Panthers 10-6 at the time. Less than 20 minutes of game time later, with the Packers leading 27-10, Watson jogged through the stadium, ran out of the tunnel and joined his teammates on the sideline. After Carolina capped its drive with a field goal, Watson was back in the game. He was targeted on his first play back in the game and caught a short pass later in the series.

Highlighted by Love’s early destruction of the Panthers’ depleted defense, Watson’s remarkable return to the lineup and the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers soaking up the cheers and doing Lambeau Leaps during a TV timeout, Green Bay overcame a sloppy start to beat the Panthers 27-19 on Thursday night at Lambeau Field.

The Packers have won three of their last four games to improve to 5-3. The Panthers, who started the night leading the NFC South, fell to 3-4.

Nothing Is Easy for Packers

The Packers took a 27-10 midway through the third quarter. Along with the theatrics of Watson’s return, a blowout win seemed like a formality.

But nothing is ever for these Packers.

Trailing 27-13 and facing a fourth-and-3 with about five-and-a-half minutes left, Bryce Young hit Jalen Coker over the middle, and he dodged a couple would-be tacklers for a 26-yard touchdown. Carolina went for two but Isaiah McDuffie broke up Young’s pass, keeping the score 27-19.

The Packers then had a horrendous three-and-out. A 21-yard screen to Tucker Kraft was wiped out by an ineligible-man-downfield penalty and Love was flagged for intentional grounding on third-and-10 following a wayward shotgun snap by John Williams.

After the punt, Carolina started at its 45 with 4:35 to go. But Green Bay’s defense wouldn’t budge. Devonte Wyatt’s tackle for loss on first down set the stage for Young’s incompletion on fourth-and-5. Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon sent six and the Panthers picked it up, but Young’s pass to Tetairoa McMillan was short of its destination.

The Packers entered the game with the worst rush offense in the NFL. The Panthers had the worst rush defense. Carolina won the matchup decisively, but it all came down to the end and whether Green Bay could run out the clock.

Jacobs gained 8 yards on two tries, setting up third-and-2 with 2:33 to go. With the game on the line, Love connected with Watson over the middle for 7 yards and the pivotal first down.

Green Bay needed one more first down to officially put the game away, but Jacobs was buried for minus-3 on first down, with the clock winding down to the 2-minute warning. His second-down run got stuffed. His third-down run was lucky to gain one. So, with 29 seconds left, coach Matt LaFleur sent out the punt team.

Dani Dennis-Sutton’s sack essentially ended the game.

Packers Led 20-10 at Halftime

Even while losing Christian Watson to a chest injury and two early fumbles, the Packers led the Panthers 20-10 at halftime.

Jordan Love was on fire against a Panthers defense playing without their two starting cornerbacks, a fill-in starting cornerback and their top pass rusher. Love ended the half 18-of-24 passing for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Two of the incompletions were drops by Matthew Golden.

Golden made amends for the second. After dropping a 24-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone, he caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to the left on the next play. That gave Green Bay its 10-point halftime lead – a remarkable feat considering Coleman Owen fumbled the opening kickoff return, Watson fumbled later, Trey Smack missed an extra point and Josh Jacobs had 14 rushing yards on 10 carries against the worst run defense in the NFL.

Carolina got the ball to start the second half and drove out to midfield. Coach Dave Canales went for it on fourth-and-2 but rookie defensive tackle Chris McClellan stuffed running back Chuba Hubbard for a turnover on downs.

The Packers wasted no time in scoring what seemed like the clinching touchdown. Jacobs got the ball six times on the drive, including a 4-yard scoring pass from Jordan Love. The play, which gave the Packers a 27-10 lead, pushed Jacobs over 10,000 scrimmage yards in his career.

Horrible Start for Packers

Carolina won the toss and deferred. The Packers had been going with Bo Melton and J. Michael Sturdivant on kickoff returns. This time, it was Melton and Coleman Owen. Owen did a nice job fielding the bouncing kick but got blasted by linebacker Jackson Kuwatch. Owen fumbled and the Panthers recovered at Green Bay’s 29.

The defense did well to limit the damage to a field goal. After giving up one first down, Lukas Van Ness set the edge on a first-down run, Ty’Ron Hopper had great coverage on a second-down checkdown and Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell corralled Bryce Young in the pocket so Devonte Wyatt could get the sack.

After an exchange of punts, the Packers took advantage of good field position to score the go-ahead touchdown. On third-and-8, Jordan Love ripped a post to Christian Watson for a gain of 24. Then, on third-and-8, Tucker Kraft got open on a post against safety Nick Scott for a 12-yard touchdown.

Trey Smack’s extra point hit the left upright, and the rookie heard the boos as he walked off the field.

Smack’s kickoff was a touchback, giving the ball to Carolina at the 35. Bryce Young hit tight end Tommy Tremble for 19 on third-and-3 (17 yards after the catch) and Chuba Hubbrd for 11 on third-and-10 (16 yards after the catch with two missed tackles) to get the ball into scoring position.

Brewers in the house and doing Lambeau Leaps. pic.twitter.com/hZ7Eiqydkk
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 30, 2026

With the Brewers being celebrated between quarters, the crowd was going nuts on second-and-goal at the 1. Hubbard silenced them immediately with a touchdown.

Green Bay had a drive going on its ensuing possession but Watson fumbled after a third-down catch. The defense, once again, did the job. Brenton Cox and Karl Brooks had pressures to force a three-and-out punt.

Packers Score But Christian Watson Injured

The Packers then drove 90 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The big play – and the costly play – was a 53-yard bomb to Christian Watson. It was a perfect throw and excellent catch, but Panthers cornerback Will Lee IV fell on Watson at the end of the play. Both players stayed on the turf for a couple minutes before Watson walked off the field, into the blue medical tent and then the locker room.

On the next play, Savion Williams gained 18 on an end-around; Tucker Kraft and Anthony Belton had big blocks. Finally, on third-and-goal at the 1, Josh Jacobs used a wicked jump cut to find space for an easy touchdown. The crowd roared, then roared even louder when Trey Smack made the kick to give Green Bay a 13-10 lead.

Watson had 100 receiving yards in about 21 minutes before the injury.

The Packers' starting right guard tonight hasn't played right guard in a decade. ⬇️https://t.co/u4sj5k56FS
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 29, 2026

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