Missed catch by Christian Watson in a crucial game against the San Francisco 49ers puts on display just how fine the margin is between NFL success and failure. Paced for a touchdown-securing 49-yard pass by Jordan Love, this moment for Watson proved disastrous when he dropped the ball, leading to the Packers having to punt the ball away. This is the season’s first drop for Watson and signals the recurring struggles of yesteryear, frustrating the fans.
Christian Watson missed a perfect throw from Jordan Love
Christian Watson was running on a streak down the sideline for what looked like an easy touchdown on third-and-goal against the San Francisco 49ers, but the Green Bay Packers already led 17-7 in the second quarter. For first-and-10 from San Francisco’s 49, quarterback Jordan Love’s perfect throw had all the makings of a sure touchdown. At 50 yards in the air, the ball seemed to be headed right into Watson’s outstretched hands. He completely clanked it, though, and it bounced away from him. Video below.
Watson was selected as the second pick of the second round (34th overall) in the 2022 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. He was the seventh wide receiver selected in the draft. Watson was the only wide receiver from North Dakota State University to be drafted in the past thirty-seven years. On July 20, 2022, he signed his rookie contract, a four-year deal with the Packers worth $9,241,031.
Fox Sports covered Sunday’s game, with Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt as the hosts. “You can not throw a ball better than that,” Brady said. “That is not the highest degree of difficulty catch for [Watson’s] caliber of talent that he has had.” Brady, a legendary NFL quarterback, expressed frustration over an outstanding pass by the Packers quarterback, highlighting his history of wasted passes and his tendency to react negatively to such situations. “Oh man, what a throw by Love,” Brady said.
That’s the worst drop of the 2024 NFL season given how perfect the throw was. Watson, a 2022 second-round pick, has 20 receptions for 383 yards and two touchdowns in nine games, not what Green Bay was looking for in draft production, and his recent drop only makes it worse.