Matthew Golden's breakout actually hurts (not helps) the Matt LaFleur argument

For 45 minutes on Saturday night, the Green Bay Packers seemed destined to take down the Chicago Bears in just the third-ever postseason meeting between the longtime rivals, taking a 21-6 lead into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Cheeseheads everywhere, the Packers failed to seal the deal, suffering a historic collapse by surrendering 25 points in the final frame en route to a 31-27 loss.

Despite the disappointing defeat, Green Bay did get a breakout performance from rookie wideout Matthew Golden, who was targeted five times and caught four passes for 84 yards, his most important reception, of course, being his first career touchdown, which sadly accounted for the Packers' only points of the fourth quarter.

And what a touchdown it was, as the 22-year-old took a short pass from Jordan Love at roughly the Bears' 29-yard line and juked and hurdled his way through six Chicago defenders to reach the end zone, upping the Green Bay lead to 27-16 with 6:36 to play.

Now, Golden's prime-time performance should obviously be seen as a positive. But for Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur, whose future in Green Bay has naturally been a big topic of conversation in the aftermath of one of the most heartbreaking defeats in franchise history, the performance could actually be seen as a negative, as it has many wondering why the former Texas Longhorn wasn't utilized more during the regular season.

Matthew Golden's breakout performance could aid in the argument for the Packers to fire Matt LaFleur

Golden, of course, was taken with the 23rd overall pick in last April's draft, thus becoming the first wide receiver taken by the franchise in the first round since Javon Walker was taken 20th overall all the way back in 2002.

However, while plenty of other rookie pass-catchers flourished, Golden did not, receiving just 44 targets in 14 games, ultimately catching just 29 passes for 361 yards with zero touchdowns while taking just over 43 percent of the Packers' offensive snaps.

And the numbers only look worse when you remember that Christian Watson started the season on injured reserve, Jayden Reed missed a large chunk of the year due to injury, and tight end Tucker Kraft was lost to a season-ending torn ACL in Week 9.

There was a four-game stretch early in the season in which it looked like Golden was set to become a big part of Green Bay's offensive attack, as he tallied a combined 16 grabs for 233 yards in the Packers' contests against the Browns, Cowboys, Bengals, and Cardinals.

But over his final eight appearances, he recorded just 11 receptions for 112 yards and only took more than 25 offensive snaps on two occasions. And there was really no genuine explanation from LaFleur for why he wasn't being utilized.

Golden's name did come up, however, ahead of the Packers' playoff matchup with the Bears when offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich told the media that the rookie would not play a "premier role when the playoffs come around," which is just a weird thing for any coach to say publicly.

That obviously didn't turn out to be the case, as the only Packers receiver to gain more yardage against Chicago was soon-to-be free agent Romeo Doubs, who caught eight passes on 11 targets for 124 yards and a touchdown.

Naturally, one has to wonder how many of the Packers' losses during the regular season could've been victories had LaFleur and Stenavich opted to give Golden more snaps, more targets, and basically more chances to showcase the skills he showed off on Saturday night.

Golden's breakout obviously won't be the deciding factor on LaFleur's future with the franchise, but it certainly needs to be included in the discussion, as he clearly proved that he has the ability to deliver when given the opportunity.