Packers' Love reaps the benefits as Watson and Golden develop into dynamic receiving duo

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love faces a greater burden to carry the Green Bay Packers’ offense as long as they’re unable to run the ball consistently.

Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have made Love's challenge a bit easier by developing into one of the NFL's top receiving tandems.

In Green Bay’s 31-7 blowout of the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Love joined Aaron Rodgers as the only Packers players ever to throw for 350-plus yards and multiple touchdowns with no interceptions in a game while completing at least 80% of their passes.

Watson had six catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, while Golden caught six passes for 123 yards. They have stepped up their play now that fellow receiver Jayden Reed is out for the season with a neck injury.

“We talked about it a little bit last week, how good the offense can be,” Love said after Sunday's game. “It just shows right there. Those are two guys that are dominant factors.”

Watson is the first NFL player since Jerry Rice in 1986 to have at least 25 catches and six touchdown receptions while averaging 18 yards per catch through the first five games of a season.

His 474 yards receiving rank fifth in the NFL, and Golden is eighth with 397. Watson’s six touchdown catches put him second in the league, behind Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“There’s a lot of individual goals I want to achieve, but I’ve got to keep on doing what I’m doing if we want to have success as a team,” Watson said. “Obviously they’re relying on me a lot, so I’ve got to keep on doing what I’m doing to obviously get the team the best chance to continue winning.”

Love ranks 14th in the NFL in passer rating after finishing sixth in that category last season, but he is heating up now that Green Bay’s injury-riddled offensive line is stabilizing. Sunday marked the first time the Packers used the same starting O-line in consecutive games.

The Bears game marked Love’s third 300-yard performance of the season. He went 25 of 31 for 367 yards. That included touchdown passes to Watson of 42 and 53 yards.

“Regardless of how good or bad things are going, he’s going to be the first guy to lift everybody’s head up,” Watson said. “He’s going to be the first guy to pick you up when you’re down. He just has an unwavering confidence in everybody around him. That just instills confidence in us when we’re out there.”

What’s working

The Packers have produced eight takeaways over their last two games. They forced turnovers on four straight possessions during one second-half stretch Sunday. They also didn’t commit a turnover. … Green Bay limited the Bears to 81 yards on 24 carries, well below their NFL-leading average of 196.3 yards rushing entering the game. … The Packers produced six pass completions of more than 30 yards, including four of at least 42 yards. … With Caleb Williams out because of a hamstring injury, the Packers sacked Bears QBs Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum twice each. ... The Packers were penalized four times for 25 yards – both season lows – after entering this game with an NFL-high 86 penalty yards per game.

What needs work

The rushing attack remains a major concern. Green Bay gained 70 yards on 26 carries Sunday. The Packers have an NFL-low 60.4 yards rushing per game. They’re gaining 3.1 yards per carry for the league’s second-lowest average, ahead of Las Vegas.

Stock up

Xavier McKinney had his fourth career two-interception game. … Devonte Wyatt recorded two sacks to match a career high. … Since stats started getting measured as an official statistic in 1982, Dani Dennis-Sutton is the first Packers rookie to have a sack, multiple tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in the same game. … Daniel Whelan’s average of 55.3 yards per punt was the third-highest in team history for any game in which someone had at least four attempts.

Stock down

After going 6 of 7 on field-goal attempts with a 58-yarder and a 59-yarder in his first four games, Trey Smack had the worst performance of his rookie season Sunday. He missed an extra-point attempt and went 1 of 3 on field goals. Smack made a 35-yarder but missed from 43 and 47.

Injuries

DT Javon Hargrave was carted off the field with an Achilles tendon injury. Hargrave joins Reed, offensive tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (knee) and linebacker Edgerrin Cooper (Achilles) as Packers players with season-ending injuries.

All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons hasn't yet been cleared to practice as he comes back after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament last December.

“As soon as they give us the green light, he’ll be out there,” LaFleur said Monday. “That hasn’t happened yet, but I think we’re getting closer.”

Key number

5 — Green Bay had a plus-5 turnover margin against the Bears. That represented the Packers’ best turnover margin in any game since 2016, when they produced six takeaways and committed no turnovers in a 38-10 home victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Next steps

The Packers (3-2) host the Dallas Cowboys (2-3) on Sunday night in a rematch of last season’s 40-all tie. Dallas should have extra rest and motivation after losing 24-16 at home to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.

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