Cal Sports Report

Jared Goff Leads Small Field of Ex-Cal Stars in Sunday's NFL Action

Aaron Rodgers, Keenan Allen, Cameron Jordan, Marvin Jones Jr. among the former Golden Bears players who did not play Sunday

Jake Curtis

Jared Goff Leads Small Field of Ex-Cal Stars in Sunday's NFL Action
Jared Goff Leads Small Field of Ex-Cal Stars in Sunday's NFL Action /

Many of the former Cal players who play skill positions in the NFL were not in action on Sunday, leaving the spotlight on ex-Cal great Jared Goff.

Former Golden Bears absent from Sunday’s games included Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, Chargers tight end Stephen Anderson and New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan.

The Packers and Lions had byes this weekend, and the Saints face the Chargers on Monday night.

So again the focus was on quarterback Goff, who had a nice game in the Rams’ 30-10 victory over the Washington team coached by former Cal linebacker Ron Rivera.

Goff completed 21 of 30 passes for 309 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for a 111.7 passer rating.

Here is his 56-yard TD pass to Robert Woods:

Goff also ran for a touchdown, as seen here:

Much of the attention in that game was on Washington quarterback Alex Smith, who suffered a gruesome leg injury in November 2018 and played for the first time since that injury. Smith completed 9 of 17 passes for 37 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

Cal fans will recall that Smith was the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft (by the 49ers) while Rodgers was not taken until the 24th selection in the first round of that same draft.

Here’s how several other former Cal players did Sunday in Week 5 of the NFL season:

---Tyson Alualu, the Pittsburgh Steelers starting nose guard, picked up two tackles as the Steelers improved to 4-0 with a 38-29 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

---Eagles backup tight end Richard Rodgers had one reception for 18 yards in that loss to Pittsburgh. He now has six receptions on seven targets for 68 yards this season. Rodgers was cut by Washington in preseason, but was signed by the Eagles.

---Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson did not play against the Steelers as he missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury.

---New York Jets safety Ashtyn Davis was back on the field for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals after missing the past two games with a groin injury. Davis recorded two tackles in the 30-10 loss to Arizona, dropping the Jets’ record to 0-5. Davis may have a new head coach in the near future.

---Atlanta Falcons rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins did not play in Sunday’s game against the Panthers because of a concussion he sustained in last week’s game.

---Falcons center Alex Mack made his 85th consecutive regular-season start in Sunday’s loss to the Panthers.

---New York Giants linebacker Devante Downs did not record any stats in  Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.

---Dallas Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur played in his 242nd consecutive game on Sunday against the Giants. That’s the longest streak among active players and the ninth longest alltime. Ladouceur is just one game behind former linebacker Bill Romanowski and two behind former punter Chris Gardocki.

---Kansas City Chiefs offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz made his 134th consecutive regular-season start in the loss to the Raiders on Sunday, temporarily tying him with ex-Cal player Cameron Jordan of the Saints for the third-longest streak among active players. (Jordan is expected to start Monday’s game.). Tampa Bay’s Ndamukong Suh made his 136th straight start on Thursday, and Indianapolis quarterback Philip Rivers made his 229th  consecutive start on Sunday. Including playoffs, Schwartz has made 141 consecutive starts.

---Houston Texans punter Bryan Anger punted only once and it was on a short field, so it hurt his average. His punt covered 33 yards on Houston’s first possession, but it went out of bounds at the Jacksonville 13-yard line, putting the Jaguars in bad position.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Cal Sports Report on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.

Published
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.

Home/Football