EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – On an afternoon in which not a whole lot went according to plan for the Packers, Christian Watson was the rock the offense needed him to be.
The fourth-year receiver not only got Green Bay going with its first touchdown on Sunday against the New York Giants but also provided the go-ahead score in the waning moments of a 27-20 victory at MetLife Stadium.
Watson caught four passes for 46 yards, and each of them contributed to the Packers' four touchdown-producing drives.
Of course, the most consequential came with Green Bay trailing by a point with 4 minutes, 7 seconds left. Watson beat two Giants defenders to the back corner of the end zone and caught a 17-yard touchdown from quarterback Jordan Love, giving the Packers a seven-point lead they wouldn't look back from.
"It was a play that we had probably called four times that game just to try to get the right look for it," Watson said. "We weren't getting man on it the whole game, that was the first time we got man on it, so we got to the can, the man beater, just went on a slot-fade and Jordan just gave me a chance."
Watson's performance came on a day in which Green Bay's pass catchers struggled with drops and both Love (left shoulder) and running back Josh Jacobs (knee) sustained injuries.
As Love jogged to the locker room to get his shoulder looked at with 2:34 left in the first quarter, backup quarterback Malik Willis entered the game with Green Bay trailing 7-0.
Willis converted a third-and-8 with a 16-yard pick up off a read-option to venture into the Giants' red zone. Facing a pivotal third-and-goal at the New York 1, Willis kept the play alive until he fired a pass to Watson in the back of the end zone.
"Honestly, that was like backyard football," Watson said. "I wasn't really supposed to be in that spot, but I just saw a couple guys fly out, I went to dive down and get back to the corner. The corner is playing outside leverage, so I didn't really have any space to go. I didn't want to muddy up the window out there, so I kinda just stopped and Malik found me."
Love returned to the game on the next series and leaned on Watson in two key situations – a 12-yard pass on third-and-7 in the second quarter and a 16-yarder on third-and-1 off a rollout at the start of the third.
Both catches converted the initial first down on what turned out to be touchdown-producing drives. It's the spot Watson wants to be in, especially after missing nearly 10 months while recovering from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in last year's regular-season finale against Chicago.
"Honestly, every single time I get to step out there it means the world to me," Watson said. "I try not to ever take any of this for granted. We've got to find a way to go 1-0 every single week. Obviously the last two weeks haven't gone our way, but we've just got to keep on pushing. It was just a great team win today."
More Malik magic: In his brief relief appearance, Willis gave the Packers a much-needed spark after falling behind early on the road.
He ran for 16 yards and completed both passes he threw for six yards, including the touchdown to Watson that capped the 12-play, 62-yard drive that lasted 7:21.
"You don't get to pick (when you go in) obviously, so you just kinda try to stay locked in and do the best you can," said Willis, who won three games in Love's stead last year. "Just grateful for the opportunity to go out there and do a little something while my dog gets right."
Willis also was relieved when he saw Love return to the game. The Packers' quarterback finished 13 of 24 passing for 174 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions (105.2 passer rating).
"He's a soldier. I already told him," Willis said. "He's going to do what he can to be out there, and I respect that. Like I told him, I hate having the only way I can be in there is he goes down, obviously, but just super excited for him the way he finished this game, the way he tried to fight through everything he can to be out there and play his balls off."
Seizing an opportunity: Unlike Love, Jacobs didn't return to the game after leaving early in the second quarter.
Third-year running back Emanuel Wilson stepped in for Jacobs, rushing for 40 yards and a TD on 11 carries. He also caught Love's pass on the two-point conversion following Watson's second score.
"Next man up," said Wilson of his mindset. "I just try my best to match his game the best I can. When he came back out, standing there the rest of the game, he was just telling me to believe in myself and be me and he trusts me."
There wasn't an immediate update on Jacobs, who ran seven times for 40 yards before the injury.
Savion's snag: Receiver Savion Williams made perhaps the play of the entire day when he hauled in a 33-yard pass on a third-and-10 deep ball from Love to help set up Watson's second TD.
The rookie third-round pick, who had nine catches for 45 yards through the first half of the season, nearly doubled his season output with the play. He also was questionable entering the game due to a foot injury.
"Unreal catch. Oh my gosh," center Sean Rhyan said. "I just saw it up in the air and I said, 'Oh my god.' Let's go. So hyped. I was juiced for him. I was juiced."
Strong finish: Micah Parsons lamented several aspects of the defensive performance against the Giants, including the defense's inability to get off the field, but never lost hope.
Individually, he made two game-changing plays with his shared sack with Isaiah McDuffie of Jameis Winston in the third quarter for a turnover on downs, and his strip sack at the end.
"We gotta finish those opportunities when we get them," said Parsons, who finished with six tackles, three quarterback hits, 1½ sacks and the forced fumble.
"We gotta put our offense in better situations. I get it's nit-picky but it's the little things that win games against better teams and greater teams. If they're gonna give us an opportunity to get off the field, we gotta take advantage of it."
