Cal Sports Report

Cal in NFL: Aaron Rodgers Struggles in Season-Opening Loss Again

First play seemed to doom Packers' QB. Keenan Allen leaves with injury. Jared Goff produces 35 points in Lions' loss

Jake Curtis

Former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a rookie wide receiver drop a sure touchdown pass on his first pass of the day, and it never got much better as he and the Packers came up with a stinker in the season opener for the second year in a row.

Rodgers finished the game 22-for-34 for 195 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 66.7 passer rating in the Packers' 23-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.  

Green Bay's first offensive play of the game was an omen of what was to come.  Rodgers launched a perfect pass to an open Christian Watson, the Packers' second-round draft pick who was behind the defense.

But Watson dropped the pass, as you can see from a few angles in the two videos below.

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It's noteworthy that Rodgers did not throw another pass in Watson's direction until less than four minutes remained in the game.

Far too often Rodgers was unable to find open receivers and held the ball, causing him to be sacked four times.

It was a reminder of how the 2021 season started for Rodgers and the Packers.  In the 2021 opener, he had one of the worst games of his career, going 15-for-28 for 133 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions in a 38-3 loss to the Saints.  

His 36.8 passer rating for that game was the third-worst of his career in games in which he started and was not replaced because of injury.

Rodgers then proceeded to throw just two interceptions the rest of the season as Green Bay won 13 of their next 15 games to win the NFC North and earn Rodgers his fourth MVP award and second in a row.

Maybe Rodgers and the Packers can turn it around again, but this time they will have to do it without All-Pro receiver Davante Adams.  There had been questions throughout the offseason on whether Rodgers would have as much success without Adams, who was traded to the Raiders at Adams' request.

Rodgers seemed a bit lost without him on Sunday, and he lost the quarterback matchup to Kirk Cousins, who had two touchdown passes, no interceptions and a 118.9 passer rating.

So a week of questions will follow Rodgers?

-At 38 years of age is he starting on a downward trend?

-Is the loss of Adams going to hurt Rodgers more than we thought?

-Will Christian Watson evolve into a reliable receiver for Rodgers this year?

-Is this just another slow start that will be forgotten in a few weeks?

-Will things get better when the first-string offensive tackles and wide receiver Allen Lazard return?

-And what about that interview with Erin Andrews that ran Sunday on Fox where Rodgers talked about ayahuasca? Will that experience in Peru with that psychedelic enter the conversation this week?

Here is Rodgers' postgame press conference, which starts about 3:20 into the video:

Here's how other ex-Golden Bears did in Sunday's NFL games:

---Vikings safety Camryn Bynum was a starter Sunday and helped Minnesota minimize Rodgers' effectiveness. Bynum recorded seven tackles, including four solo stops.

---Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen caught four passes for 66 yards in the first half, but he left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. It's not clear whether that will cost him any future playing time.

---Lions quarterback Jared Goff had some decent numbers while helping the Lions score 35 points, but he never got a chance to put together a late, game-winning drive  in 38-35 loss to the Eagles.

Goff was 21-for-37 for 215 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and Detroit scored more points than it had in all but one game last year, falling just two points shy of the 37 points the Lions scored in their meaningless 17th-game victory over the Packers of the 2021 season.

Goff directed an 11-play, 72-yard drive that he ended with his 22-yard touchdown pass to DJ Chark to close the gap to 38-35 with 3:51 left. 

But the Lions never got the ball back as the Eagles were able to run out the clock.

---Jaguars wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. caught four passes for 38 yards in Jacksonville's 28-22 loss to the Washington Commanders.

---Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, in New Orleans' 27-26 win over the Falcons.

---Falcons safety Jaylinn Hawkins was a starter and finished with six tackles and one pass defensed in Atlanta's loss to New Orleans.

---Steelers nose tackle Tyson Alualu was not a starter as Pittsburgh began the game with just two defensive linemen, but he played and had two tackles in a 23-20 overtime victory over the Bengals.

---Bears fullback Jake Tonges played in the Bears' 19-10 victory over the 49ers, but he did not record any statistics.  Safety Elijah Hicks did not play Sunday.

---Jets safety Ashtyn Davis played in the Jets' 24-9 loss to the Ravens, but did not start and did not record any statistics.

---Ravens offensive lineman Patrick Mekari was not a starter, but did play in the win over the Jets.

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Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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