Matthew Golden’s biggest mistake against Dallas was also the Cowboys’ clearest break. The Packers receiver dropped a potential 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter, forcing Green Bay to settle for a field goal instead of putting another seven points on the board.
That reprieve matters. So does what Golden did before and after it.
Green Bay beat Dallas 23-13 on Sunday night, and Golden finished with six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. For the Cowboys, whose games matter well beyond downtown Dallas across the Sherman-Denison area, the receiver’s night makes the defensive review more exacting.
Dallas was not beaten by Golden alone, but it repeatedly allowed him to create the kind of field position and down-and-distance pressure that turns one missed opportunity into a footnote.
Golden made the first warning impossible to miss
The Packers’ opening possession traveled 90 yards in 14 plays over 6:30. Green Bay converted four third downs, including two from 13 yards out, and Golden was involved in the drive’s decisive stretch.
Christian Watson first supplied a 27-yard catch on third-and-13, then Golden caught a pass at the Dallas 9 for a 37-yard gain. A taunting penalty against Golden moved the Packers back 15 yards, but the damage to Dallas’ field position had already been done. On third-and-6 from the Dallas 9, Golden caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Love for a 7-0 lead.
That sequence tells more than a box-score line. Golden did not merely collect a short scoring catch after someone else had carried the possession. He created the explosive gain, absorbed the penalty’s consequence and then finished the drive.
Watson complemented him with three catches for 64 yards, including a 28-yard reception in the second quarter. Dallas had two meaningful receiving threats to account for, and both produced important plays.
Then came the miss.
With Green Bay at the Dallas 43 in the second quarter, Golden had a potential 43-yard touchdown opportunity that he dropped. The Packers eventually kicked a 25-yard field goal, and Dallas avoided a much more damaging score. That play belongs in any honest evaluation of Golden. It was a lost chance, and the Cowboys benefited from it.
The mistake, however, did not turn him into a bystander. Near the end of the half, Golden caught a 21-yard pass from the Dallas 23 to the Dallas 2. After a defensive pass-interference penalty erased the next snap, Love scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak on the following official play. Green Bay led 17-0 at halftime.
