GREEN BAY – The Packers had just put the finishing touches on a 31-7 rout of the Chicago Bears when Christian Watson grabbed his phone and sent a message Matthew Golden's way.
Just a few hours earlier, the pair became the first Green Bay wideouts in a decade to each record six-plus catches and 120-plus receiving yards in the same game in the upset victory.
Watson, with six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, wanted to congratulate his younger teammate for his six receptions for 123 yards while also reminding Golden that they collectively established a new standard.
"I just said that we're gonna be the best in the league and there's not a lot of people that can rock with us," said Watson, paraphrasing his text. "We just gotta keep on going."
No receiving combination has been more dangerous than Watson and Golden, whose 1,039 combined receiving yards lead all NFL receiving tandems.
Golden (30 catches for 501 yards and three touchdowns) and Watson (29-538-6) are the first duo in team history to both register 25-plus catches, 500-plus receiving yards and three-plus receiving TDs in the first six games of the season.
Together, averaging 17.6 yards per reception, Watson and Golden are the first teammate tandem to post 500-plus receiving yards with an average of 16.5-plus yards per catch in the first six games of a season since Cleveland's Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow in 2007, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
While six games does not a season make, the two receivers and quarterback Jordan Love are on pace for career years across the board – Love is on track for more than 4,700 passing yards, and Watson and Golden are trending towards 1,500 and 1,400 receiving yards, respectively.
Trying to slow down that trio has been a daunting task for opposing defenses to accomplish so far.
"It's different. You see the speed," said Packers safety Xavier McKinney of Watson and Golden. "I'm sure the DBs on the other side, they feel that speed and when you've got a quarterback like '10,' I've seen it now for a couple years, so I know what he's capable of doing."
Golden's emergence as a primary playmaker could be seen in Sunday's 23-13 win over Dallas when he notched his third straight home game with at least 100 receiving yards, becoming the first Packers wideout to do so since Davante Adams in 2021.
The Packers anticipated the 2025 first-round pick being a key cog in the offense after they moved on from Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks in the offseason. However, Golden was thrust into an even larger role after the team lost Jayden Reed to a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.
Golden's maturation shows up on the stat sheet, as it's taken him just six games to surpass his numbers from his rookie season a year ago (29 catches on 44 targets for 361 yards and no touchdowns in 14 regular-season games).
"Just proud. Happy for him," said Watson of Golden's torrid start. "The first day I saw him run a route, I was like, 'All right, we're gonna have something here.' It's been exciting to see him continue to blossom that I think he knows he could be, that I knew he could be."
As productive as Watson and Golden have been through the first two months of the season, the two wideouts know there's still plenty more out there for them.
Drops have been an issue for Green Bay's entire offense out of the gate. Watson had a touchdown graze off his hands against the Cowboys while Golden had two more chances for scores in addition to his first-quarter TD grab.
"There was a lot of plays left out there," Golden said. "Those are plays that you want back, especially just knowing the type of game – Sunday night, how important it was for us to come out with this win. For me, I'm not going to be too down about it because I know 10 times out of 10, I'm going to make those plays. That's just going to come with it."
The Packers' high-powered pass game now flies to Detroit for Sunday's NFC North showdown with the Lions, whose defense has been a bit Jekyll and Hyde this year.
On one hand, the Lions lead the NFL with 20 sacks despite being on bye last week. On the other, their pass defense is on high alert for the Packers' aerial attack after yielding a high-league 297.4 passing yards per game to the opposition.
"Jordan Love, he has one of the best deep balls I've seen," Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said. "He flicks it 50 yards off his fingertips. It's very impressive. They have two of the most explosive vertical receivers in the game. It's a tremendous challenge for us."
One of the prevailing reasons Green Bay has turned to the air so often this season is due to a rushing offense that's struggled without Pro Bowl running back Josh Jacobs.
Activated from the commissioner's exempt list Monday, Jacobs is eligible to play against the Lions Sunday. With tight end Tucker Kraft rounding into form, the Packers appear closer to the shape they thought the offense would take heading into 2026.
In the interim, however, the Packers have learned it can lean on the duo of Watson and Golden when necessary.
"We're both chasing infinity," Watson said. "We're trying to be as great as we can possibly be. I think we both have that right mindset. Obviously, I know Tuck's got that mindset. I know J-Reed has that mindset whenever he gets back and is about to get out there.
"I think we have the right mentality in the receiver room. We always celebrate each other's success and feed off each other."
