One of the biggest questions of the Green Bay Packers offseason was how second-year receiver Matthew Golden would look after a disappointing rookie season. While the Packers’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings was a clear disappointment, the team can take some solace knowing that Golden played well in what is expected to be a massive season.
Golden hauled in six passes for 95 yards in the loss. Bleacher Report’s biggest takeaway from the game is that Golden emerged as one of the big three in the Packers passing attack.
“Losing to a division rival always hurts, but it wasn’t all bad for the Packers,” wrote the Bleacher Report staff. “Love showed a tremendous amount of chemistry with tight end Tucker Kraft and receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden.”
Watson had six catches for 147 yards, Kraft had three catches for 65 yards, and Golden added his 95 yards. The trio combined for 307 of the 387 yards that Jordan Love threw for.
Meanwhile, Jayden Reed was pushed out of the mix a bit with three catches for 20 yards.
Green Bay Packers WR Matthew Golden Flashes in Week 1 Loss to Minnesota Vikings
Golden was a first-round pick, but he was not expected to make much of an impact in year one. The team drafted him to complement both Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. However, Green Bay had Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs blocking his path to the field.
Golden ended up seeing the field as a rookie, but most of his playing time was replacing Watson or Reed. His role was to work with these two, not replace them. So, he was a bit misaligned.
Golden averaged 1.35 yards per route run in his rookie season. However, he flashed his talent in the postseason. He recorded four catches for 84 yards and a 3.5 yards-per-route-run rate.
While Week 1 was not quite at that level, Golden averaged 2.38 yards per route run in the game. If he can continue at this pace, he will have a strong second year.
Packers Offense Looks Strong in Moments Against Minnesota Vikings
According to rbsdm.com, the Packers offense ranked 24th in EPA/play, but they averaged 2.4 more yards per play than the Vikings offense. They had 419 yards on offense while Minnesota had 239.
The difference came down to penalties and turnovers. The Packers turned the football over three times, while the Vikings only had one turnover. Meanwhile, Green Bay had 12 penalties for 98 yards. On the other end, the Vikings had three penalties for 15 yards.
Three Packers penalties extended drives on third down, and another took a Packers turnover off the board.
Green Bay is likely walking away thinking they did enough to win the game. They just did not execute in the key moments.
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