Looking for a bright spot in the darkness of the Green Bay Packers' 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the home opener? Second-year receiver Matthew Golden and his career night provided at least one.
Golden caught five passes for 100 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night, marking his first career 100-yard receiving game and first career regular season touchdown. He was targeted on 12 of his 44 routes run, and he created a 45-yard over-the-shoulder catch on 3rd-and-11 to spark the opening touchdown drive, a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty, a 12-yard catch from the backfield on 3rd-and-2, an impressive 15-yard touchdown catch on a ball thrown behind him and a 20-yard catch on 3rd-and-10 on the final drive.
Through three games, Golden
has 15 catches for 263 yards and a score. He's on pace to blow past his numbers from his rookie within the first month and a half of 2026. In 2025, Golden caught 29 passes for 361 yards during the regular season before producing 80 receiving yards and a score in the postseason.
Golden's speed was on display early, and he made a few impressive all-hands catches, including his first catch when he got his body turned and tracked the ball late for a big play on third down.
Here's Golden's impressive catch in the first quarter:
some Golden tracking ability pic.twitter.com/0rPxPVi6LC
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2026
Golden's touchdown was a highly difficult catch that required him to haul in a throw behind him in traffic and in front of the cornerback.
Here's Golden's first career touchdown catch:
Matthew Golden hauls in the @packers TD!@ATLvsGB on Prime Video
— NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2026
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/BEaVNhScNK
The Packers also got a big night from Christian Watson, who caught seven passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, his fourth in three games to start 2026.
Golden and Watson are a dynamic receiving duo. The big problem? The Packers cannot block pass-rushers in front of Jordan Love, turning what could be a consistently explosive passing game into a truly unpredictable group down to down, week to week.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Matthew Golden provides bright spot for Packers in disastrous home opener
