Meanwhile Watson had been a revelation for the offense following tight end Tucker Kraft‘s season-ending knee injury, making countless big plays down the field and catching five TD passes over the past two months after returning from his own ACL injury.
Green Bay’s offense clearly struggled Sunday as soon as he left the game, managing just three points in the second half after scoring on five straight drives early on.
“Since Christian’s been back from rehab, he’s done some great things,” QB Jordan Love said. “He’s been that explosive playmaker we needed.
“With him going out, we’ve still got plenty of depth in that receiver room. Guys have played plenty of ball and have made plays. It’s tough. You want to have all your guys out there.”
On the play Watson got hurt, LaFleur and Love were actually going to him as they went for the Broncos’ throat, leading 23-14 after a touchdown to open the third quarter. Green Bay’s defense had just gotten a stop, and the offense went for broke.
“We scored, got a three-and-out, took a shot,” LaFleur said. “Got the coverage we wanted and Surtain made a helluva play. Give him a lot of credit. He’s one of the best in the business.”
Love liked the look as well but said he felt contact as he launched the pass, which made it come up a little short, and Surtain was able to cut in front of Watson and get his arms in position.
“I tried to step into it and got hit as I was throwing,” Love said. “Pat made a really good play. He was able to track it and step in front of Christian. It’s an unfortunate play, with Christian going down on that, makes it even worse. I liked the concept we had and the read we had.”
Now the offense may have to adjust, once again, without Watson while the defense finds a pass rush without Parsons. Neither LaFleur nor Love seemed worried about the psyche of the team, expressing confidence in rebounding, but that’ll have to be proven on the field.
“That’s going to be tough,” LaFleur said. “It’s not going to be one individual, … it’s the collective. It’s everybody playing to the best of their ability.
“We’re going to have to feed off one another and rally around each other. There’s going to be opportunities for other guys to get in there and they’re going to have to be impactful.”
Leadership will matter now more than ever. The season depends on it.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in our team and the guys in that locker room,” Love said. “We’ll be able to bounce back.”