CHICAGO – Sunday wasn't about the four catches for a career-high 150 receiving yards to Christian Watson.
Sunday was about the Packers getting a win over the Chicago Bears and even more important first victory in the NFC North this season and the third-year receiver was ready, willing and able to do anything he could to help make it happen.
As it turned out, Watson turned in the three longest plays of the afternoon for Green Bay in its 20-19 win over the Bears in front of 59,419 at Soldier Field.
After catching a 17-yard pass on third-and-11 in the second quarter, Watson was a spark plug for the Packers' offense in the second half.
First, the 6-foot-4, 208-pound receiver caught a 25-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Love to set up a Josh Jacobs' 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, putting Green Bay up 14-13 at the time.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Watson pulled down a 48-yard reception over two Chicago defensive backs before laying out for a critical 60-yard catch-and-run on Green Bay's go-ahead drive with just under 4 minutes left to play.
Love scrambled for 13 yards on the next play before punching in a 1-yard touchdown to give the Packers a 20-19 lead it held onto thanks in part to Karl Brooks' game-saving field goal block.
"He's a special player," running back Josh Jacobs said. "To be able to see him be as good as he is, but also as humble as he is and never complains about whether he's getting catches or anything like that … He just goes out there and plays his best, so I think it's much respect from me because it's easy to sink into that."
Watson's two fourth-quarter catches came with a little drama. Despite Watson's heroics on the 48-yard reception, Green Bay ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Chicago 2 after Love was stopped short on a fourth-and-goal scramble.
Still trailing 19-14, the Packers got the ball back with 4:17 remaining. After a 4-yard Jacobs carry, Watson came free on a crossing pattern but had to extend to haul in the pass from Love.
Watson was so open on the play, he was able to get back up and run to the Chicago 14. Bears head coach Matt Eberflus unsuccessfully challenged whether Watson caught the ball but the Packers' third-year wideout had no doubt.
"One-hundred percent confident," Watson said. "I'm always going to believe in myself, but I definitely thought I got a hand underneath it. I thought so. I just had to get them to believe so, and it worked out."
It was Watson's first 100-yard receiving game since he had five catches for 104 yards in the 2022 regular-season finale vs. Detroit.
Unlike last year when he battled a persistent hamstring issue, Watson has been healthy for most of this season. He's still needed to exercise some patience on the field, including a recent three-game stretch in which he had just eight catches for 85 yards.
However, Sunday was a powerful reminder of what Watson means to Green Bay's offense.
"As cliché as it sounds, I'm always going to put the team goals first," Watson said. "We played some good football and some not-so-good football at times but we're right where we want to be at as a team.
"So, I'm just going to continue to do my part and if it's opportunities like today, I'm going try to my best to make those plays. If it's opportunities elsewhere, in the run game or whatnot, I'm going to make those plays, too."
Make it 50: When Jacobs punched in a 7-yard touchdown in the third quarter, it not only gave Green Bay the lead back but also marked his 50th career rushing touchdown.
Chicago entered with the NFL's 24th-ranked run defense but frequently dropped an extra defender in the box to counter the Packers' run game.
Jacobs still finished with 76 yards on 18 carries (4.2 yards per rush) while also contributing 58 receiving yards on four crucial catches to pace the Packers' offense.
"I really didn't like my first couple of runs," Jacobs said. "I felt like my placement, like my read, was kind of bad. So I like that I started off like that because it made me like more hungry in the game to want to make up for it and want to come in and try a little harder."
Sack for mom: Defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. produced a tackle for a loss in the first quarter and his first career sack in the second in his first in-game action this year.
Cox had family in attendance for his 2024 debut, including his mom who hadn't yet seen him play in an NFL game.
"It means everything," Cox said. "I have my mom here, my auntie here and my girl here. It means a lot to me to have them see me play and getting back to old times, making plays."
Cox's sack of Caleb Williams for a 10-yard loss on a play-action bootleg was critical, as it then forced the Bears to punt. It was his first regular-season sack since two years ago at Florida.
The Packers have been high on Cox's potential, but he'd been a healthy scratch this year due to the good health of Green Bay's defensive ends. Preston Smith's trade to Pittsburgh last week afforded Cox more opportunities and he seized them.
None of it came as a surprise to teammate Rashan Gary.
"All week he's been playing fast," Gary said. "He got a boot(leg) in practice and got a sack on it. Same thing, play away, ran off backside and got a TFL in practice. You get the same looks, same plays, what did he do? It came to fruition. It came to light."
Three penalties (with an asterisk): The Packers drastically cut down on the penalties against the Chicago Bears, drawing just three flags for 25 yards.
The first was somewhat suspect, as safety Xavier McKinney was flagged for unnecessary roughness while touching Williams while he was running out of bounds in the first quarter.
"It's tough with the QBs when they're scrambling because you don't really know," said McKinney, who finished with a team-high nine tackles. "I didn't do it purposely. I knew he was going out of bounds and I don't really think I pushed him or anything when he stepped out of bounds. I think he sold it pretty good. But it is what it is."
