Christian Watson returns from the hospital as the Packers beat the Panthers 27-19

The Green Bay Packers beat the Carolina Panthers 27-19 on Thursday Night Football, and the strangest moment of the night belonged to Christian Watson. The receiver left Lambeau Field for a hospital in the first half, got checked out and came back to play.

The Packers said Watson was taken for precautionary testing. Ryan Wood, who covers the team, said the Prime Video broadcast described it as a chest injury. Less than an hour later, Watson ran back onto the field in full uniform and slapped hands with teammates. He finished with eight catches for 113 yards, including a 53-yarder, the ESPN box score shows.

Jordan Love made it work around him. He completed 30 of 41 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception, and he was not sacked. Tucker Kraft caught a 12-yard score in the first quarter. Matthew Golden, questionable before the game with a shoulder injury, caught seven passes for 79 yards and a 24-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Love's 4-yard pass to Josh Jacobs midway through the third made it 27-10.

Jacobs also ran in a 1-yard touchdown. The running game did not get much else going behind a line missing two interior starters. Jacobs carried 21 times for 39 yards, and Green Bay ran for 66 yards as a team.

The defense carried the second half. Green Bay sacked Young six times, with six different players getting one: Ty'Ron Hopper, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Brenton Cox Jr. and Devonte Wyatt, who had been questionable with an ankle injury. Hopper also intercepted Young.

Carolina hung around. Zakee Wheatley intercepted Love in the third quarter, and Young found Jalen Coker for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth-and-3 with 5:37 left to make it 27-19. Carolina did not convert the try after it. Carolina got the ball back twice and could not score. The game ended on a lateral from Tetairoa McMillan to Coker that Brenton Cox Jr. recovered.

Young finished 23 of 41 for 209 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Chuba Hubbard ran 22 times for 81 yards and a score, and McMillan caught six passes for 58 yards. Carolina converted 5 of 18 third downs.

What's next: Green Bay is 5-3 and gets extra rest before its next game. Carolina falls to 3-4 after two straight losses. The question for the Packers is whether Watson's chest checks out after the adrenaline wears off, and whether the line gets healthy enough for Jacobs to do more than finish drives.