Packer Central

Packers’ Jordan Love, Christian Watson Injured Against Bears

In a span of less than five plays, the Packers’ Christian Watson (knee) and Jordan Love (elbow) were injured against the Bears.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Early in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers receiver Christian Watson and quarterback Jordan Love were injured in a span of four plays.

Neither player returned in the first half.

At the start of the third quarter, the Packers ruled out Watson but Love was warming up.

Ultimately, though, it was Malik Willis who opened the second half as the quarterback for Green Bay.

Watson, who was questionable due to an injured left knee sustained a couple weeks ago against the Saints, went down while running a route. It was a noncontact injury.

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson immediately signaled for the Packers’ training staff to come to Watson’s aid.

Eventually, Watson walked off the field with the assistance of a couple trainers and went directly into the blue medical tent.

Moments later, with Watson still being checked out, Love caught the Bears with 12 defenders on the field. The pocket collapsed and he managed to unload the ball to Josh Jacobs.

As officials discussed the penalty, trainers came to check on Love. Backup quarterback Malik Willis began firing passes on the sideline to get ready.

About a minute later, with Watson still in the medical tent, Love walked off the field and Willis entered the game.

Ultimately, Watson was carted to the locker room. He is questionable with a knee injury.

Love is questionable, as well, with an injured right elbow. Late in the first half, he started throwing on the sideline but Willis finished the half.

Willis led the Packers to a touchdown to cut the margin to 14-10. He threw a 20-yard pass to Tucker Kraft, who made a leaping catch against safety Kevin Byard, for first-and-goal at the 9. Josh Jacobs scored on the next play.

Still, if the Packers were hoping for a feel-good win against the Bears and a healthy roster for next weekend’s playoff game, those plans seem to have gone awry.

“I definitely think there’s a part with how we play, how we finish a season, kind of that momentum that we carry into the postseason, for sure,” Love said this week of the importance of playing against the Bears.

“I think play-wise, you always want to play clean football. But at the end of the day, like you said, when you do start the playoffs and the postseason starts, it is 0-0, it is a clean slate. Everybody has the same opportunity. You’ve got to go out there and the winners win and keep going, and the losers go home. I think it’s kind of even stakes for everybody.”

Watson, after missing a game with a knee injury, thought it was important, too. With Romeo Doubs out with illness, Watson played despite missing practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

“I kind of have a full understanding of what I’m going through and where I’m at in the recovery process. I’m pretty comfortable with where I’m at,” Watson said on Friday.

“I think our mindset’s the same every week,” he added. “We’re approaching it just like we were last week, and every week before then. We’re going out there to try to win a football game and play a full four quarters and continue to grow.”

Packers coach Matt LaFleur, at the risk of suffering key injuries, was hoping to use this game to build momentum for the playoffs.

“Part of the challenge is,” LaFleur said, “I heard what (Bill) Belichick said about this situation the other day, and I think there’s a lot of truth in that. How do you pick and choose who you sit? Does that mean certain guys are more important than others? Because I think this is the ultimate team sport, and we need everybody.

“Certainly, when you have more depth at certain positions, that gives you a little bit more flexibility in terms of what route you go but, at the same time, I wouldn’t say it’s a short (injury) list. We’ve got a lot of guys on there, and so that definitely limits your ability in terms of what you want to do going into the game.”

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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.