The Green Bay Packers‘ 2025 campaign came to a stunning end on Saturday night, as the team threw away a 15-point fourth-quarter lead in their wild-card matchup against the Chicago Bears, which led to them suffering a 31-27 defeat when all was said and done. Now, the Packers will head back to the drawing board as they try to find a way to get over the hump in 2026.
While Green Bay lost this game, it ended up seeing a breakout performance take place for rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden. And yet, while the talented playmaker enjoyed the best game of his young career, he wasn’t in a celebratory mood afterwards, as his big game could not save the Packers from suffering a brutal collapse down the stretch.
Matthew Golden Dishes on Enjoying Breakout Game in Packers’ Loss
The Packers selected Golden with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, as they aimed to give Jordan Love a de facto No. 1 target in the passing game. Peppering one guy with targets on a weekly basis has never been Love’s forte, though, as he frequently spreads the ball around to his wide array of playmakers on offense.
Even with several guys dealing with injuries throughout the year, Golden struggled to find much consistency as a rookie, as he finished the year with 29 catches for 361 yards in 14 games of action. Perhaps most notably, Golden didn’t find the end zone at all during the season, which was a bit of a concerning trend for Green Bay.
In the team’s loss to the Bears, Golden flashed his potential all night long, as he racked up four receptions for 84 yards and the first touchdown of his young career. While that is a major individual accomplishment for Golden, he wasn’t looking to celebrate it after the game, as he was more upset that the Packers could not pick up the win.
“I’ve always been a team-first guy, I’ve never been selfish,” Golden said after the game. “God gave me a blessing today, something that I’ve been working on all season, and obviously it happened. But for me, I wanted to get the win more than anything. It just hurts, it really do.”
Packers Hoping Matthew Golden Can Build Off Breakout Game in 2026
GettyPackers rookie wide receiver Matthew Golden.
After another disappointing end to the season for Green Bay, the team will return to the drawing board and look to find a way to get over the hump in 2026. Getting Golden more involved on offense is certainly something the team should look to accomplish, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the front office finds a way to open up more snaps for him over the offseason.
Losing is always tough, but there’s reason to believe that the Packers will be back and better than ever next season. In order to accomplish that, though, they have to retool their roster over the upcoming offseason. As a result, Green Bay is set to embark on what could be a wildly important offseason in its quest to reemerge as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Packers Rookie WR Matthew Golden Sends Honest Message After Breakout Game in Loss