GREEN BAY, Wis. -- No one is more relieved about the emergence of receivers Christian Watson and Matthew Golden than the Green Bay Packers' custodial department.
They no longer have to worry about cleaning up after a potential disgorgement.
Those in charge of keeping Lambeau Field neat and tidy have been on call for the better part of the past two years -- ever since coach Matt LaFleur grew tired of being asked whether they'll ever find a No. 1 receiver again and quipped: "I want to vomit every time I hear 'number one wide receiver' to be honest with you."
Halfway through this season, there is little question that the Packers have a WR1(a) and WR1(b) pair with Watson and Golden, who have transformed Green Bay's offense into one of the most explosive in the league despite the absence of any semblance of a running game.
Through nine games, Watson and Golden rank third and fourth, respectively, in the NFL in receiving yards. If they keep this up, they will write themselves into the record books as one of the most productive receiving tandems in NFL history.
Watson's 879 yards receiving puts him on pace for 1,660 yards. Golden's 783 calculates to 1,479 yards over the 17-game regular season. Combined, that's 3,139 yards.
There have been only four pairs of teammates who combined for 3,000 receiving yards in a single season, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The most was a 3,174-yard season by the Lions duo of Brett Perriman (1,488 yards) and Herman Moore (1,686 yards) in 1995, and that was in a 16-game season.
And there has never been a team with a pair of 1,500-yard receivers.
The Packers went from not having a reliable No. 1 receiver since Davante Adams' departure after the 2021 season, which was the last time they had a 1,000-yard receiver, to seemingly having two of them.
"The numbers they're putting up, the plays they're making, yeah, I feel like we've got two number ones for sure," Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said this week. "But again, we don't look at it that way. We look at it as you got two great players, how can we just get them the ball, and it's a great problem to have."
It's exactly what LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst envisioned when they streamlined their receiver room in the offseason. After they let Romeo Doubs leave in free agency and traded Dontayvion Wicks, they acknowledged it was more challenging than they thought to keep so many receivers happy last season.
Sunday's win over the New England Patriots validated their thinking. With Jordan Love pinpointing deep ball after deep ball, Watson and Golden had massive -- and nearly perfect -- performances. Between the two of them, they caught 17 of 18 targets. The only missed connection was a sideline pass that was just off the outstretched hand of Watson, which would've added another 35 yards or so to his total. Even without it, he caught seven passes for 174 yards and a touchdown. Golden caught all 10 passes thrown his way for 164 yards and a touchdown.
"Christian and M.G., I mean, I looked at their stat line after the game, it was just crazy," Love said. "It's crazy to see that, and I think they're balling right now. So we just got to keep finding ways to get them the rock."
For Golden, it's been a 180 from his rookie season last year, when he was targeted only 44 times and caught 29 passes for 361 yards without a touchdown in 14 games despite becoming the first receiver the Packers drafted in the first round since 2002. He topped those numbers by Week 5 this season. The only thing holding him back is a league-high eight drops this season, but after one of them Sunday, Love went right back to him on the next play and he caught a touchdown.
"We talk about it all the time, we feed off each other," Golden said. "Whenever he gets going, I get going, it goes back and forth. I think when we're on the same side of the ball, it makes it even better. You gotta pick one. I know me and him, we talked about it all offseason -- we were gonna come in, do this thing and take off with it. It's just about continuing to keep going and keep winning games."
Watson agreed that it's contagious.
"However many yards he had in the first quarter, 120 or whatever it was, it only helps me, gets my energy going," said Watson of Golden, who actually had 150 yards in the first half on Sunday. "Obviously, it puts less stress on me as an individual actually out there on the field. It's definitely contagious. We're feeding off each other's energy all game. If he's making plays, I know there's plays for me to make. Obviously 10 [Love] is at the helm of it all."
It's why running back Josh Jacobs used the same three words in separate answers to describe what Love, Watson and Golden did against the Patriots and throughout the season.
"Oh my goodness," Jacobs said.
It has the Packers ranked No. 2 in the NFL in passing yards per game (279.7) and Love at the top of the passing yards category with 2,618. Love also ranks third in touchdown passes (19) against only six interceptions.
The only worry, if there is one, is that an injury to either Watson or Golden could derail an offense so dependent on that twosome. They already lost slot receiver Jayden Reed to a season-ending neck injury in Week 2.
Which is why LaFleur put the kibosh on the double-back-flip touchdown celebration that Watson and Golden broke out on Sunday.
"I did not see it live," LaFleur said. "I was told about it, and I said, 'Don't ever do that again, please.'"