CHARLOTTE – With the Packers' season possibly on the line, Romeo Doubs pulled Aaron Jones aside in the offensive huddle, gave his running back a quick hug and issued a challenge.
"Me and you," the second-year receiver told Jones. "We gotta go make a play."
Three plays later, Doubs did just that.
In what turned into a second-half shootout against Carolina, Doubs hauled in a 36-yard reception from quarterback Jordan Love on third-and-4 in a tied game with just over two minutes remaining.
It was the jolt Green Bay's offense needed to march down the field and set up Anders Carlson for a game-winning 32-yard field goal that propelled the Packers to a 33-30 win over the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
Doubs made several big plays in Sunday's win, including a 5-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, but his late-game heroics showed the leadership role the 23-year-old wideout has taken on at such an early age.
It wasn't without a little drama. Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor challenged whether Doubs completed the catch, but the ruling stood upon further review since his body landed in bounds. The 36-yard catch is the longest in Doubs' young NFL career and nobody was more excited than Jones.
"Third down we throw it to him (and) he catches it. I said, 'This is a bad man,'" Jones recalling the play. "That's exactly what we just talked about. One of us had to make a play. He goes down there and makes a spectacular catch. That speaks volumes."
Check out photos from the Week 16 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023.
Doubs finished with a team-high 79 yards and a TD on four catches, critical production for a Green Bay offense that was playing without Christian Watson (hamstring) and Jayden Reed (toe/chest), and lost rookie Dontayvion Wicks to a chest injury of his own at halftime.
The 6-foot-2, 204-pound receiver opened with a 12-yard catch off a slant in the second quarter on a series that culminated in Carlson's first field goal from 53 yards. Doubs then had a 25-yard catch-and-run that Carolina linebacker Frankie Luvu punched out, but tight end Josiah Deguara was able to jump on to maintain possession of the ball.
Doubs made up for it at the end of the drive when he kept his feet inside the front pylon on the 5-yard grab that put the Packers up 30-16 just three seconds into the fourth quarter. A jubilant Doubs fired the ball into the crowd after the score.
"He made some humongous plays for us," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said. "That was a heck of a throw after he scored that touchdown; threw it up in the second level, I think. But Rome, I love how he competes. He's always going to attack the football."
For a minute, it looked like those 30 points might be enough for the Packers to snap their recent two-game skid and improve to 7-8, but the Panthers scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to pull even with 4:05 left in regulation.
Doubs' catch provided a badly needed spark for Green Bay considering the offense went three-and-out on back-to-back possessions prior to his huddle-side chat with Jones. The 36-yard reception moved the Packers to the Carolina 33, with rookie tight end Tucker Kraft paving the way for Carlson's chip shot with a 20-yard pass that Love threaded past two Panthers defenders.
With all the injuries at receiver, Doubs has been a constant for Love this season. His brand of leadership also resonates in a young wideout room. There's perhaps no better example than practice-squad wideout Bo Melton, who was elevated for Sunday's game. Beforehand, Melton told Doubs that "I'm going to go as you go, bro."
Melton finished with five touches for 49 yards, just a week after catching his first NFL pass against Tampa Bay.
"Romeo is a dog, man," Melton said. "I know Rome was gonna make a play. I knew he was gonna make the play when his number was called, every single time."
Doubs took a humble approach to his game-clinching catch, while acknowledging the Packers still have work to do to catch the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle for the final two wild-card berths in the NFC playoffs.
When it came time to make play, however, Doubs did what his team needed.
"If I make the play, the game (is) over," said Doubs, who leads Green Bay with 56 catches for 646 yards and eight touchdowns this season. "And I made the play and the game (was) over."
