Packers beat Panthers 27-19 as Christian Watson returns after mid-game hospital visit

Green Bay Packers defeated the Carolina Panthers 27-19 at Lambeau Field on Thursday night, with wide receiver Christian Watson returning to the game after a mid-game trip to a local hospital; the Packers overcame three turnovers in the victory.

Quarterback Jordan Love completed 30 of 41 passes for 288 yards and threw touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft, Matthew Golden and Josh Jacobs while also throwing one interception; Jacobs, who rushed 39 yards on 21 carries against the NFL’s lowest-ranked run defense, scored on a four-yard reception and a one-yard run for Green Bay (5-3).

Carolina rallied from a 27-10 deficit in the third quarter to cut the margin to 27-19 when Bryce Young hit Jalen Coker for a 26-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-three with 5:37 remaining, but the Panthers’ two-point conversion attempt failed; Young finished 23 of 31 for 209 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Panthers regained possession at their own 45 after the failed two-point try but lost the ball on downs at midfield with 2:41 left, and a final drive that began at their own 20 with 22 seconds and no timeouts ended when Dani Dennis-Sutton’s sack effectively ended the comeback attempt.

Christian Watson sustained a chest injury while making a 53-yard catch in the second quarter and was taken to a local hospital amid fears of a serious injury, but after being cleared by medical staff he returned late in the third quarter and caught a six-yard pass on the opening play of the fourth; he led all receivers with 113 yards on eight receptions.

“I never wanted to go [to hospital], I was hoping they’d let me off,” Watson said after the game. “They said there were a couple of signs that made them want to take me over there, so I was just praying it was good enough that I could come back out here. Luckily it was … I’m happy to be out here on a football field. There was no internal bleeding [nothing] that was raising suspicion. I cleared everything and I was able to get back out.”

“One of the doctors had his phone out, so I was watching the play-by-play,” he said.

Carolina running back Chuba Hubbard finished with 22 carries for 81 yards and a touchdown and added seven catches for 38 yards; on the play where Watson was injured, Panthers cornerback Will Lee hurt his hamstring while diving and was carted into the locker room, joining Akayleb Evans (triceps/knee), Mike Jackson (groin) and Jaycee Horn (quadriceps) among Carolina’s cornerbacks on injured reserve.

Members of the Milwaukee Brewers, including captain Christian Yelich and Jacob Misiorowski, received a loud ovation as they arrived at Lambeau Field one night after winning the first World Series title in franchise history; pitcher Brandon Woodruff carried the Commissioner’s Trophy out of the tunnel during a timeout before the second quarter, several players attempted a Lambeau Leap with outfielder Sal Frelick having the most success, and the Brewers were later shown on the video board wearing cheeseheads bearing the message, “2026 WS Champions.”

The win moved Green Bay to 5-3 on the season while Carolina fell to 3-4.