A flexing celebration from Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden that was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct sent NFL fans on social media into a flurry
Matthew Golden
Matthew Golden was tagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Sunday(Image: Getty Images)
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Despite catching an early touchdown, Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden had a tough first half on Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.
Golden dropped a pair of potential touchdowns — admittedly from 44 and 23 yards — and was also dinged for a first-quarter 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after flexing in the face of Cowboys cornerback Ameer Speed.
The surging Packers wideout hauled in a floated 37-yard pass from quarterback Jordan Love to set his team up with a first-and-goal early in Sunday's contest. Golden's flex in Speed's face, done for a few seconds, earned the penalty. NFL fans erupted angerly online, citing a season-long trend of celebration penalties.
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"The NFL is so soft nowadays it's pathetic!!!!!" one tweeted. "These taunting calls are getting out of hand. I miss the days when guys could celebrate when they made a good play!"
"If flexing is a penalty, my gym owes 15 yards every morning," another joked. "No Fun League strikes again. Matthew Golden got a 15-yard penalty for this," the Barstool Gambling account posted.
"Matthew Golden Was Called For Taunting After Flexing After A First Down.. Yeah, We Definitely Don’t Want This Kind Of Stuff In Our Game. Like Jeez.. (Am I Doing This Right??)," the account SM Highlights joked.
Penalties are way up in the NFL this season — the 963 accepted penalties through the first four weeks of the 2026 campaign are the most since the data has been tracked (starting in 1978).
Matthew Golden
Matthew Golden caught a touchdown as part of an up-and-down day(Image: Getty Images)
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Additionally, players are getting fined en masse for celebrations. 139 fines were issued to players over five weeks, with a handful coming for touchdown dances. Kyle Juszczyk campaigned (successfully) to have his overturned.
Before the season, the NFL once again stressed enforcement of taunting-related penalties, according to Front Office Sports. 28 taunting penalties were issued last year.
"It's just one of those areas that the league wants to work actively on," NFL officiating rules analyst Walt Anderson said in an August news conference.
"There are plenty of ways for players to be able to celebrate. And they come up with some very unique and often entertaining ways. So we want them to focus on those and not the inappropriate areas."
Golden, 23, was the Packers' first-round pick in 2025 out of Houston. He didn't catch a touchdown during the regular season but exploded in the team's NFC Wild Card game against the Chicago Bears, dovetailing a strong start to the 2026 season.