Week 18 ended in chaotic fashion for a laundry list of teams, from the Patriots losing the No. 1 overall seed with a win and the Chiefs putting up a goose egg, to Mike Evans hitting his 11th consecutive 1,000 receiving yard season. While lots of fan bases celebrated in the last weekend of the regular season, Packers supporters weren’t so lucky.
Former 34th overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft Christian Watson left Sunday’s game vs. the Bears via cart after he suffered a non-contact knee injury in the second quarter. Green Bay’s deep threat was able to walk off the field with support, but after being examined by medical staff, Watson was ruled out of the game and left the field with his hands resting on his head. Not a good sign, to say the least.
This morning, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Watson is believed to have suffered a torn ACL along with additional damage, which will not only put him out for the rest of this season, but could impact his chances to return healthy at the start of the 2025/2026 season.
Watson missed Week 17’s stint vs. the Vikings due to a knee injury, and also has dealt with a lingering hamstring injury since joining the NFL, having missed a total of 11 games before entering the ’24/’25 season. The third-year receiver finished the season with 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns.
Who’s up next?
That’s a silly question, because the Packers have consistently used a revolving unit of wide receivers since Jordan Love took over as the starting QB, making it insanely difficult to predict which wideout would be No. 1. All in all, there is no number one in Green Bay, but Watson was consistently used as a deep-downfield threat, with 34% of his target share coming 20+ yards downfield—the most of any of the Packers top-five receivers this season.
Jordan Love is a gunslinger, there’s no question there, so Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks should split routes run in the deep third come Sunday vs. the Eagles. While Wicks tends to have butterfingers at times—sporting a 51.3% catch rate this season— Doubs is a more consistent target and should see a higher share if he is healthy and back in the lineup after missing Week 18 due to an illness. With Doubs sidelined and Watson’s early exit, undrafted sophomore Malik Heath pulled in three receptions on five targets vs. the Bears and led the team in receiving yards.
What is Jordan Love’s status?
Remember how I said Packers’ fans didn’t have much to cheer for in Week 18? Well, after being stunned by a 94-yard trick play on a punt return for a touchdown and before losing to the Bears on a walk-off field goal, Love exited the game with an apparent elbow injury and was replaced by backup Malik Willis. The Utah State alum stated after the game he had lost feeling in his throwing arm and did not feel 100% at the time.
However, good news to Packers fans, head coach Matt LaFleur stated in his postgame presser that Love could have returned to the game, but remained sidelined as a precaution. Overall, LaFleur feels confident in Love’s status for the Wildcard matchup this weekend.
The Packers will face Philadelphia on the road at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 11th. The Eagles opened up as 3.5-point favorites for the matchup on DraftKings Sportsbook, with the line moving to 4.5-point favorites as of Monday afternoon.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
