Christian Watson says the Packers are not hiding from the ugliness of last season's late collapse. Instead, they're using it as motivation heading into the 2026 season.
"It's definitely fueling us, 100 percent," Watson told Patrick Claybon and Judy Battista on Tuesday's The Insiders. "Obviously, we'd like to move on from those things, but it's hard to move on from the reason behind losing those games."
Following a 28-21 win over the Chicago Bears, Green Bay stood at 9-3-1. After four straight losses to close out the regular season, the Packers lost their wild-card game at Chicago, blowing an 18-point halftime lead and a 27-16 advantage with just over six minutes left.
Watson, who missed nearly the first half of the season due to injury, said the Packers must clean up the details – especially in key moments – if they want to avoid a similar collapse this coming season.
"I think it really comes down to just not being able to finish in crucial moments, in crucial games, just not being able to finish," Watson said. "That's been a huge staple for us in terms of our mindset throughout this offseason of just consistently finishing. Finishing everything, finishing every drill, every practice, every play.
"We've got to be able to build on that and carry that into this training camp and start the season that way so we can finish it that way. I think 'finish' is a big emphasis for us this year."
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The Packers rewarded Watson with a four-year, $110.5 million extension a few weeks ago as a clear sign of faith, in spite of him missing multiple games in each of his four NFL seasons. They're clearly counting on Watson to be a big part of a slimmed-down receiver room after Romeo Doubs signed with the Patriots and Dontayvion Wicks was traded to the Eagles.
Change was a theme across the board for the typically conservative Packers, who made several notable changes this offseason.
Watson said it's "definitely different" with the familiar faces gone, but he promises that the Packers still have the talent at the wide receiver position to thrive.
"Just an explosive and dynamic room," Watson said. "Obviously, we have me and (Jayden Reed), who have played a significant amount of snaps with the Packers. I feel like everyone knows what to expect from us. Obviously, we're going to make plays when our number is called."
Watson also singled out last year's first-round pick, Matthew Golden, who didn't score a touchdown in a disappointing regular season but had a two-TD performance in the playoff loss that could spark Golden into a bigger second season.
"I don't think that we saw a fraction of what he's capable of last year," Watson said of Golden. "I think the more opportunities he gets, the more the world's gonna know exactly who he is. I'm excited for that."
Watson even sees offseason improvement in his quarterback, Jordan Love, who is entering Year 7.
"(Love) just finds a way to get better at the things he's already been great at," Watson said. "His consistency, somehow finding ways to get better, I feel like he's always been the anchor of the offense in terms of his poise and his consistency since he's got the starting job. He just finds ways to continue to build on that even more.
"I think his biggest strength is just bringing the guys around him along. I feel like we all just kind of lean on his energy, lean on his vibe, and he brings everybody else up with him. I think that's definitely his biggest strong suit and I feel like we've gotten a lot better this offseason because of it."
For Watson, the largest question is often his health, having missed multiple games in each of his four seasons. The speedster feels great, health-wise, and is happy not to be rehabbing an injury, going into the regular season refreshed and recharged.
"Obviously, (I) have gotten able to recover the body to a really good point and (am) just focused on football-specific stuff now this offseason," he said. "Feeling really, really good."