The Green Bay Packers have turned things around as of late. After a disastrous first three weeks of the season, where they lost two of three in embarrassing fashion, the Packers entered Week 6 with a two-game winning streak. They not only picked up a narrow victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but also a huge 31-7 blowout win over the Chicago Bears.
In the Week 5 game, quarterback Jordan Love showed off his arm strength and deep pass accuracy by connecting with the likes of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. If anything, it showed that Love is more than willing to take chances downfield, because he knows his receivers can catch the football.
But in Week 6 in primetime against the Dallas Cowboys, the duo had some frustrating drops. To make matters worse, they happened in the end zone or with walk-in paths to the end zone. Sure, the Packers still won 23-13, but there wouldn't have been hope for the Cowboys for much of the second half.
Matthew Golden and Christian Watson have dropped-filled Week 6 vs. Cowboys
While the final score was the final score, it may have been by a larger margin, had it not been for the three drops from the Packers' top wide receiver duo.
In the second quarter, with Green Bay up 7-0, Love targeted Golden about 30 yards deep downfield while getting hit. Golden had beaten Cowboys cornerback Ameer Speed on his route and had an easy path into the end zone. Instead, Golden bobbled the pass in his hands and dropped it.
Later on in the second quarter, Golden had beaten Speed on a route again and had the football in his hands. Again, Golden dropped it while falling backwards into the end zone. That is two touchdowns on two separate drives dropped, which would have made this game more of a blowout than it was.
These both happened after Golden scored a touchdown on their first drive of the game.
Finally, there was Watson, who stood alone between three Cowboys defenders in the middle of the end zone,. The window was wide open, and Love was able to get his pass through and hit Watson in the hands. Watson tried to haul it in, but it fell to the turf.
That would have been 18 points on the board at minimum for the Packers. They cannot have that be a continuing trend for the remainder of the season.
Packers still experience growing pains with Matthew Golden
As Packers fans all know, they've waited years for the team to draft an offensive skill player in the first round. That all changed in 2025, as they drafted Golden out of USC with their first-round pick, and did so in Green Bay. The hope was that the Packers would finally have a top wide receiver option for Love to target for the foreseeable future.
His rookie year didn't pan out that well, as he hauled in just 29-of-44 targets for 361 yards and zero touchdowns. It wasn't what Packers fans wanted, but he was further down the depth chart, especially with Romeo Doubs still on the team.
But with Doubs gone, this was Golden's best chance at breaking out. Golden recorded his first career receiving touchdown in Week 3 in a 35-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. But in that game, Golden caught just 5-of-12 targets, but for 100 yards. In Week 4, Golden caught three-of-seven targets for 21 yards and a touchdown. Finally, there was Week 5, where he caught six-of-seven targets for 123 yards.
There's no denying the talent that Golden possesses. But they will need him to be more consistent and catch those easy, walk-in touchdowns. He can get away with it against the Cowboys' lackluster defense. But he can't do that against better defenses on their schedule, such as the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Rams. Let's not forget, that the Packers are still looking up at the Bears and Vikings for first place in the NFC North, and potentially for a playoff spot.
Yes, you can take the win. But the Packers' top wide receiver duo needs to be better.
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