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Packers Stars Aaron Jones, Christian Watson Likely Out vs. Falcons

If the Green Bay Packers are going to improve to 2-0, they might have to do it without their most explosive players on offense.
Bill Huber|
Packers Stars Aaron Jones, Christian Watson Likely Out vs. Falcons
Packers Stars Aaron Jones, Christian Watson Likely Out vs. Falcons

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ two top playmakers, running back Aaron Jones and receiver Christian Watson, are expected to miss Sunday’s Week 2 game at the Atlanta Falcons due to hamstring injuries, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.

(Update: Both players are inactive, as is David Bakhtiari.)

Watson suffered his hamstring injury at practice on Aug. 31. He returned to practice on Friday as limited participation and was listed as questionable on the injury report. Jones suffered his hamstring injury at the end of his 35-yard touchdown catch against the Bears. He did not practice all week and also was listed as questionable.

How devastating could that be to the offense?

Last season, the Packers had 21 plays of 30-plus yards. Of those, 16 were passes: five to Allen Lazard, four to Christian Watson, two to Randall Cobb and Samori Toure, and one each for Sammy Watkins and Jones. The other five were runs: four by Jones and one by Watson.

Only Samori Toure figures to be active from that group on Sunday. However, rookie tight end Luke Musgrave (37 yards) and rookie Jayden Reed (30 yards) had big plays against Chicago to help the Packers to a 38-20 win.

Second-year player Romeo Doubs figures to be the focal point of the passing attack. Coming off his own hamstring, Doubs caught four passes for 26 yards last week. While he scored two touchdowns against Chicago, none of his 46 career catches have been longer than 26 yards.

“I think just overall knowledge of our offense. The details,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Doubs’ Year 1-to-Year 2 growth. “I think that’s probably the natural progression for most young players.

“I think when you’re relied upon early in your career, it’s like drinking water out of a firehouse, so to speak. There’s a lot coming at you, so you’re almost in survival mode. I think the more you play, the more reps you get, the more the game slows down, you can understand some of the different looks, whether it’s running certain routes, just more of the fundamentals of the game and the finer details of the position, how to get open. So, I think he’s grown a lot.”

AJ Dillon, who is in his final season under contract and needs to prove he can be a No. 1 back, will get that opportunity if Jones is inactive. He had a miserable game at Chicago with 13 carries for 19 yards. By contrast, Jones had nine carries for 41 yards and one touchdown and two receptions for 86 yards and another touchdown.

Dillon didn’t have a prayer on most of his carries, though.

Rookie Emanuel Wilson, who led the NFL in preseason rushing, and veteran Patrick Taylor, who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday, will round out the backfield.

It all puts a lot of pressure on quarterback Jordan Love, not to mention the offensive line to give him time and the backs some space.

“That’s the NFL. Trying to stay healthy,” Love said on Wednesday. “Obviously, when guys get banged up and if they can’t go, it’s always a next-man-up mentality. But that’s why everybody gets reps during practice, and they’ve got to be on their Ps and Qs and understand the game plan in and out so, if they get thrown in a situation where they’ve got to play, they know what they’re doing.”

The week started with some optimism. After the Chicago game, Jones said he felt great and didn't think the injury was significant. On Monday, Watson spoke with some optimism that he would be ready, too, but also was a realist.

“No one in here is Superman, so you’ve got to let the body run its course,” Watson said.

From a historical perspective, the Packers lost at the Falcons 33-32 on Oct. 30, 2016. In that game, the team was without its second-best receiver (Randall Cobb), its top tight end (Jared Cook), its leading rusher (James Starks), its best defensive player (Clay Matthews) and its starting cornerbacks (Damarious Randall and Quentin Rollins).

Don Jackson started at running back, Justin Perillo started at tight end and Demetri Goodson and LaDarius Gunter started at cornerback. The Packers almost won that game because of Aaron Rodgers.

Now, it’s Love’s time to shine with Dillon, Doubs and a bunch of rookies.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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