PITTSBURGH – For the most part, Sunday didn't feel too out of the ordinary for Christian Watson.
The Packers' fourth-year receiver stuck to his usual routine – he woke up, ate breakfast and adhered to his pregame ritual of playing a video game (on this particular day, it was "Battlefield 6") before heading to the stadium.
That's when the gravity of the moment started to sink in for Watson, whose nine-month journey from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered this past January in Chicago reached its final phase at Acrisure Stadium.
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound wideout picked up right where he let off in catching four passes for 85 yards to assist Green Bay in its 35-25 win over the Steelers.
"I tried to make it as normal of a gameday as possible for myself," Watson said. "When I was getting ready to pack my bag and go downstairs is when it started to hit me, the long road that I was on. It meant a lot for me to get this. … I'm thankful for that."
The Packers quickly worked Watson into the fold, as quarterback Jordan Love targeted the wideout on his first pass of the game.
With the offense sputtering early, Watson had just two catches for 24 yards through the first 44 minutes, 25 seconds before Love targeted him on a third-and-7 play inside Pittsburgh territory with the third quarter winding down.
Watson came down with it for a 33-yard gain to the Steelers' 7-yard line. Two plays later, Josh Jacobs bounced into the end zone for a 3-yard TD that gave Green Bay the lead for good.
Looking to build more cushion, Love went back to Watson on a first-down throw that went for 28 yards midway through the fourth quarter, leading to a Brandon McManus 28-yard field goal to extend Green Bay's lead to 32-19.
"That's a guy right there who has been battling his tail off for the last year," said tight end Tucker Kraft of Watson. "Coming in, not missing a day. You can't. You have a reconstructive surgery like that, you can't miss a day. That's just a credit to him and all the work he's put in."
Watson appeared ahead of schedule all offseason in his rehab, but the Packers still took a pragmatic approach to his recovery. With his 21-day practice window closing, Green Bay officially activated Watson off the physically unable to perform list Saturday.
A little more than 24 hours later, No. 9 was back to making plays again.
"I was telling some of the guys, it started hitting me probably towards the end of the game when we kind of sealed the deal," Watson said. "It means a lot to me to be able to play football and be a part of this team. Just knowing how these last nine months went, it meant a lot to me to go out and play."
Game-changing Gary: Defensive lineman Micah Parsons was awarded a game ball for his fourth-quarter sack of Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers that led to a loss of 10 yards.
However, the four-time Pro Bowler passed the ball to someone he felt was a bit more deserving: fellow pass rusher Rashan Gary, who sacked Rodgers in both the first and fourth quarters.
"Rashan, he was the best player on the field tonight defensively," Parsons said. "When you talk about rallying the players, keeping guys' heads up, understanding situations and doing everything – all the details – he was the best player tonight. I thought he was the player of the game."
Gary, who leads the Packers with 7½ sacks this season, proudly showed the ball off to media around his locker after the game while thanking Parsons for the gesture.
"It just a testament to the man he is and how we all work throughout the week," Gary said. "He understands what we put into this. Him feeling I deserved it was a good feeling."
Wilson closes it down: A part of Emanuel Wilson wanted to take it to the house when he broke through for a 6-yard gain on third-and-5 late in the fourth quarter, but that wasn't his job.
The third-year running back would know. Because the first 59 minutes and change, Wilson did all the little things right to assist the Packers' comeback win.
Spelling Jacobs, Wilson finished with 14 touches for 87 total yards (61 rushing, 26 receiving). Seventy-seven of those yards came in the second half.
"They needed somebody to make a play and I just tried to make plays the best way I could whenever the ball is in my hands," Wilson said. "I feel like when we start out slow, it keeps us behind and then once we put it all together, we're unstoppable."
Staying cool: Aiding the Packers' second-half comeback was Green Bay keeping its cool while the Steelers picked up a couple personal fouls and unnecessary roughness penalties.
That included a sequence early in the fourth quarter when receiver DK Metcalf grabbed the facemask of linebacker Quay Walker, who didn't retaliate. The flag pushed the Steelers, trailing 29-19 at the time, back to third-and-17 and an eventual three-and-out.
"It's just maturing, man," said Walker, who was ejected from two games as a rookie three years ago when he didn't show the same self-control. "I'm older now. I was 22 years old when I first did that and now I just done grew up ever since that situation. I just know how it felt last time I did that. I felt very, real real bad and just didn't wanna feel that ... I know how to handle things now, you know."
Wanna buy a house: Parsons earned his first sack of Rodgers but also came away impressed by the 41-year-old quarterback and eventual first-ballot Hall of Famer.
It led to a fun interaction between the two postgame.
"That's why he's the GOAT. He's one of five quarterbacks in the league where you say he's one of the greatest of all time," Parsons said. "He's great to play and he told me to buy his house."
