109 Yards on a 90-Yard Drive: Jordan Love Just Did Something No QB Has Done in 5 Years

Jordan Love threw for 109 passing yards on a single 90-yard touchdown drive — the most passing yards by any player on one drive in at least five NFL seasons, according to ESPN research. It happened on the Green Bay Packers' opening possession against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football on October 18, 2026, at Lambeau Field, and it set the tone for a 23-13 Packers win.

What happened on the drive?

Green Bay started at its own 10-yard line and needed 14 plays and 6 minutes 30 seconds to reach the end zone. Love completed 6 of 8 passes for 109 yards, finishing the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden. The Packers converted all four of their third downs on the possession.

The big plays came in chunks: 37 yards to Golden, 27 yards to Christian Watson, 15 yards to Savion Williams and 14 yards to Pierre Strong Jr. On a normal 90-yard drive, those completions alone would nearly finish the job. This drive was not normal.

How can a quarterback throw for 109 yards on a 90-yard drive?

Passing yards count every yard a completion gains. Penalty yards move a team backward, and the quarterback then has to gain some of the same ground a second time — and those re-earned yards count again in his passing total.

That is exactly what happened here. After Golden's 37-yard catch, Golden was flagged 15 yards for taunting after flexing following the play. A separate five-yard penalty for an ineligible player downfield on Travis Glover pushed Green Bay back again. Love kept completing passes, kept converting third downs, and the drive's passing total climbed past the length of the field itself.

As Packers Wire reported, ESPN's Rob Demovsky noted that Love's 109 yards were the most by a player on a single offensive drive in at least the last five years. NBC Sports and Sportsnet both recorded the same 6-of-8 for 109 yards line for the opening possession, and Sports Illustrated's halftime analysis called out the same figure.

Why is Matthew Golden's part of the story going viral too?

Golden did not just catch the touchdown — he supplied the penalty, the biggest play and the backstory. The receiver finished with six catches for 104 yards and the score, against the team he grew up supporting in Texas.

Golden told Packers News he still believes Dez Bryant caught the ball in the famous 2014 divisional playoff game at Lambeau, that he idolized Bryant as an 11-year-old Cowboys fan, and that he expected Dallas to draft him. The Cowboys held the 12th pick and were looking for a receiver to pair with CeeDee Lamb. Green Bay took him instead.

After the game, Golden insisted his flex was not aimed at a defender. He said he was just flexing, that he was in the middle of a game and feeling it, that he believed he was flexing toward the stands, and that the flag was out of his control. He also questioned whether players are now expected not to show emotion in a high-emotion game.

Whether fans agree with the call or not, the sequence is pure Sunday night theater: a Texas kid burns his childhood team for 37 yards, gets flagged for celebrating it, and then beats a different Cowboys corner for the touchdown six plays later anyway.

What was the final result?

Green Bay led 17-0 at halftime and won 23-13. Love finished with 276 passing yards, threw the touchdown to Golden and added a 1-yard rushing touchdown late in the first half. The Packers improved to 4-2, while Dallas fell to 2-4 after being held scoreless in the first half.

Dallas finally scored in the third quarter on a 1-yard Javonte Williams touchdown run, but Green Bay's defense — which had already intercepted Dak Prescott twice in the second quarter — kept the Cowboys from ever making it a one-score game late.

Why is this blowing up?

First, the number looks impossible. A football field is 100 yards long, the drive itself was officially 90 yards, and the box score still credits the quarterback with 109 passing yards on it. Fans shared the stat because it makes you stop and re-read it.

Second, it arrived in prime time, against the Cowboys, in a game Dallas fans were already furious about for other reasons — including a roughing-the-passer call that wiped out a Packers interception later in the night. The opening drive became the clean, fun version of a wild night: no controversy about the result, just a stat that should not exist and a receiver settling a draft-day score.

What's next?

For Green Bay, the takeaway is that Love and Golden are building real chemistry, and that this offense can survive its own mistakes — 20 yards of penalties on one drive — without stalling. For Dallas, a 2-4 start and a scoreless first half will keep the pressure on this week. And for everyone else, 109-on-90 is the kind of trivia that will live in broadcasts for years the next time a quarterback starts marching backward and forward on the same drive.

Sources

FAQ

How did Jordan Love throw for 109 yards on a 90-yard drive?

Two penalties pushed Green Bay backward during the drive, so Love had to re-gain yardage he had already earned. Passing stats count every completion's yards, including yards gained twice, so his total passed the drive's official 90 yards.

Is 109 yards on one drive a record?

It is the most by a player on a single offensive drive in at least the last five NFL seasons, per ESPN research reported by Packers Wire. Coverage did not claim it as an all-time record.

Who caught Jordan Love's touchdown on the opening drive?

Matthew Golden caught the 9-yard touchdown. He finished the game with six catches for 104 yards against Dallas, the team he supported growing up in Texas.

What was the final score of Packers vs. Cowboys?

Green Bay beat Dallas 23-13 at Lambeau Field on October 18, 2026. The Packers led 17-0 at halftime, improved to 4-2, and dropped the Cowboys to 2-4.