Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love threw deep right for Matthew Golden on second-and-13 with 1:56 left in the first half Thursday night, and the pass fell incomplete.
On the next snap, Love went deep left to Golden for a 24-yard touchdown. It put the Packers ahead of the Carolina Panthers 20-10 at Lambeau Field, and Green Bay held on for a 27-19 win.
Golden finished with seven catches for 79 yards. His 13 targets led the Packers.
Nothing passed between Love and Golden in the huddle between the two throws.
“It’s a tough one. The ball was a little bit outside. He almost made a fantastic catch,” Love said. “But just one of those ones we couldn’t connect on. And I always talk about that next play mindset. So I thought he did a great job being able to respond and go make a play on that next one.”
“So obviously that’s what it’s all about,” Love continued. “We talk about it all the time. But to see it come to life was pretty cool. But just that mindset, just go get the next play.”
Golden’s first target came on a second-and-6 throw during Green Bay’s opening series. Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com noted that the pass went off Golden’s hands, and the Packers punted after the next snap.
Green Bay took Golden out of Texas with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the first receiver the Packers selected in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002.
Two more deep shots went his way in the fourth quarter.
Zakee Wheatley intercepted the first at the Carolina 2 with 14:37 remaining and returned it 17 yards. Green Bay led 27-13 at the time.
The second came on first-and-15 from the Green Bay 22 with 5:04 left, after an ineligible-downfield penalty on Anthony Belton wiped out a 21-yard catch by Tucker Kraft. Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he thought Golden had a chance on the throw.
“It’s not necessarily the ball’s going to go there. It did go there, but we had a play, like an all-purpose play, that if we didn’t feel like we liked the matchup or the look, that the quarterback can progress,” LaFleur said. “But he took a shot. I thought there was a potential. I thought he was getting grabbed, but it didn’t get called, and that’s just life.”
The Packers, now 5-3, visit the New England Patriots on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT.
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