FOXBOROUGH — Six receptions on six targets for 126 yards and a touchdown would be a strong stat line for an NFL receiver to have in a complete game.
Well, that’s what Matthew Golden had in the first quarter alone Sunday against the Patriots.
Golden and Christian Watson carved up New England’s defense, racking up a combined 335 yards. The two Packers wide receivers had seven plays of more than 20 yards, as the Patriots’ secondary had no answers.
“I looked at their stat line after the game and it was just crazy,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who finished with 372 passing yards.
Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who signed a monster contract extension this offseason, had arguably the worst game of his career. According to the in-game charting by Pro Football Focus, Gonzalez surrendered 10 receptions on 11 targets for 187 yards, including 40 after the catch. He allowed a touchdown and logged only one pass breakup. The 187 yards is the third-most allowed by any defender in coverage this season.
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Gonzalez also became the only defender since at least 2018 to allow more than 80 receiving yards to two different players in the same game, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats. With Gonzalez in coverage, Golden caught seven passes for 105 yards — the most Gonzalez has allowed to a single receiver in his career — while Watson caught three for 82 yards.
“They just got the best of me today,” Gonzalez said after the humiliating 45-27 loss. “It’s pro football. They got good receivers, like every team. They got the best of me today. We’ll move on from it and be ready for next week.”
OH. MY. GOSH.
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/sIjdR4nvd1
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 8, 2026
On the second play of the game, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye threw an ugly interception that gave the Packers possession at New England’s 14-yard line. Two plays later, Love scrambled up the middle for a touchdown and early 7-0 lead.
Green Bay’s receivers dominated from there.
After the Patriots went three and out on their second drive, Golden immediately sparked the Packers with back-to-back receptions. The first play, which gained 16 yards, was ruled a catch by officials, even though it was debatable if Golden got both of his feet down. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel grabbed his challenge flag, but didn’t throw it as the Packers hurried to the line. Love proceeded to find Golden again, this time for 49 yards.
Golden, who led the league with nine dropped passes headed into Sunday, caught all 10 of his targets to finish with a career-high 164 yards. Watson also hit a career-high, with 171 yards on seven receptions. Each player scored a touchdown.
“I got to be able to finish and make those plays,” Gonzalez said. “I’m right there. I got to make those plays. It’s not the end of the world that I had a bad game. I’m not shaken up by it. I’m not too worried about it. I’ll move on.”
In Gonzalez’s six other appearances this season — he missed two games with a shoulder injury — he allowed a combined 196 yards. Gonzalez has shown he’s a capable defender against premier talent, evidenced earlier this year by his performance against the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Week 1 and the Jets’ Garrett Wilson in Week 4.
A wide-open Golden and the Packers are up early.
📺: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/m4sTeAAgdB
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 8, 2026
But Watson and Golden repeatedly torched him on Sunday. Love attacked him all night.
“We’re just feeding off each other, feeding off each other’s energy, feeding off each other’s success,” Watson said. “[Golden] makes my job easier when he goes out there and has 100 yards in the first quarter. You’ve got to focus on him and then I’m open. It makes our lives easier.”
“Whenever he gets going, I get going,” echoed Golden. “It kind of goes back and forth. I think when we’re on the same side of the ball, it makes it even better. You’ve got to pick one.”
New England’s secondary took another hit when Carlton Davis suffered a knee injury at the end of the second quarter. He very gingerly made his way across the field and did not return. After the game, Davis was spotted moving slowly through the locker room.
A ridiculous one-handed snag from Watson.
📺: FOX/FOX One pic.twitter.com/zHsqyWfPkV
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 8, 2026
The fact that the Packers entered Sunday leading the league in explosive plays and still, almost effortlessly, shredded Gonzalez and New England’s secondary is concerning. The numbers could have been even worse, but the Packers benched their starters in the fourth quarter because the score was so lopsided.
“When your best players don’t play good, you don’t have much of a chance in this league,” Vrabel said. “We expect a lot more, he expects a lot more, and we need more from him and everybody else. It wasn’t just him.”
Up next for the Patriots is another tough NFC North team, as they travel to Munich to play the Lions. The receiver duo of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams will present another challenge, as Williams has nine explosive plays this season.
“I know the team counts on me,” Gonzalez said. “The defense counts on me. It hurts to let them down, but it’s football. At the end of the day, it’s one game. I had a bad game. I’ll watch it and be ready for Detroit.”