There was not a great deal to love offensively from the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon. They failed to amass 200 total yards as a unit and undisciplined penalties plagued them (and the defense) for much of the day. Additionally, they lost two of their starters, right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele and wide receiver Jayden Reed, on back-to-back plays during their first offensive series of the game.
Fortunately, Green Bay‘s defense, led by Lukas Van Ness, kept the New York Jets offense in check for most of the game, and certainly in crunch time. The same can be said of the Packers special teams, which turned in its second consecutive week of impressive play.
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But for as disappointing as the offense was a whole, fans should be encouraged by what they saw from second-year wide receiver Matthew Golden.
Sep 20, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) warms up prior to a game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
When Green Bay selected Golden in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft, many expected him to have a huge role on the offense. Has fans saw last season, though, that did not turn out to be the case. As a rookie in 2025, Golden had just 29 receptions for 361 yards and no touchdowns.
With the departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, many assumed that Golden would have a much more significant role on the offense in 2026.
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Unfortunately, the lackluster performance of the unit as a whole as, in a way, overshadowed the impact Golden is having this year. In the loss, he had a team-leading four receptions and 58 receiving yards. This followed a strong Week One performance in Green Bay’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings in which the second-year pass catcher had six receptions for 95 yards.
Though it may be early, Golden is on pace to have over 1,000 receiving yards this year. But the true impact he is having on the offense was seen in their victory on Sunday, when he drew multiple crucial pass interference penalties that kept the offense on the field.
And what is notable, too, is that Golden’s 18 targets through the first two games of the season are second on the team, only behind the 19 targets to Christian Watson. They are the only two players with more than 10 so far.
With Reed possibly missing some significant time, Golden just became even more important to the Green Bay offense. Hopefully the offensive line will be able to protect Jordan Love long enough so he can find his former first round pick (and others) down the field.
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If they can find some consistency on the line, it will open the door for even more production from the skill players, including Golden.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (0) runs with the ball as the New York Jets defend during a game at MetLife Stadium, Sep 20, 2026, East Rutherford, NJ, USA.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
