Christian Watson injures his knee in the Green Bay Packers’ win

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On a night when they posted their first shutout of the NFL season and secured a spot in the playoffs for the second straight year, the only problem the Green Bay Packers had to contend with was a knee injury to Christian Watson.

It came at the end of a 14-yard gain late in the second quarter of Monday night’s 34-0 victory over the New Orleans Saints at Lambeau Field. Two New Orleans defenders – Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry – landed on Watson’s left knee as he went out of bounds at the Saints’ 6-yard line.

“There are certainly some concerns,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said after Monday’s game. “Tomorrow we will carry out more tests. Hopefully I’ll have an answer for you tomorrow.”

Watson actually returned to play seven more snaps, including four in the third quarter, before leaving the game for good. He remained on the Packers sideline for the remainder of the game.

“It definitely hurt right away, but it felt good enough to go back in, so I went back in and it felt good,” Watson said. “But it just took a while and I just couldn’t play the type of football I wanted to play, so I just had to stop.”

Watson didn’t have a catch but managed two runs for 23 yards. Watson’s injury aside, it was a monumental night for the Packers.

It was their first shutout since the 2021 season and they secured a playoff spot with two games to play. Although the Packers (11-4) can’t win the NFC North, they can still clinch the top wild card spot. They close with two division games – at Minnesota (13-2) on Sunday and at home against the Bears (4-11) in Week 18.

Before Monday, there hadn’t been a shutout in the NFL all season. According to ESPN Research, there has never been a season without a shutout in league history and this was the last season in a season with the first shutout.

“The defense ran the ball,” said Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon, who had a sack fumble in the second quarter. “A shutout in the NFL is the hardest thing to do, and doing it in prime time is even harder, and securing a playoff spot with it is a heck of a deal.”

For Packers quarterback Jordan Love, it was the second playoff berth in as many seasons as the team’s starting quarterback. For LaFleur, it was the fifth time in six seasons as Packers coach that his team qualified for the playoffs.

And for veteran free agent signings Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs, who each played in just one playoff game before signing with the Packers last offseason, this is the reason they came to Green Bay .

“It’s kind of hard to put into words, man,” said Jacobs, who rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown before getting free for most of the second half and taking command of the game. “That’s the main reason I came here.”

McKinney said, “I told (Nixon)… before I had to fight my way into the playoffs…”

Nixon interrupted and said, “Welcome to Green Bay.”

The Saints, 5-10 and starting Spencer Rattler at quarterback in place of the injured Derek Carr, were sidelined for just the second time since 2002, but interim Saints coach Darren Rizzi didn’t believe it was for lack of performance.

“The day I took over we were on a seven-game losing streak,” Rizzi said. “For a lot of players, especially veterans, it would have been easier, easier to try it out and I’ve never felt that. I didn’t feel that today. To be honest, I thought: I thought we had a great week of preparation, we had a great mess last night. We didn’t perform well in this league.

“We didn’t perform very well. I never felt like our guys looked down the road and didn’t put in the effort because of our playoff status. I have never felt this way once during the time I took over. I did.” “I don’t feel like we were trained and executed tonight.”

ESPN staff writer Katherine Terrell contributed to this report.