Cal Sports Report

Cal in NFL: Aaron Rodgers Has Another MVP-Caliber Performance

Rams QB Jared Goff, Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr. are nearly as spectacular as Green Bay's Rodgers, and Chad Hansen has a big game in his debut with the Texans
Jake Curtis|
Cal in NFL: Aaron Rodgers Has Another MVP-Caliber Performance
Cal in NFL: Aaron Rodgers Has Another MVP-Caliber Performance

Former Cal star Aaron Rodgers had another strong performance to enhance his bid for a third MVP award, but two other ex-Golden Bears, Jared Goff and Marvin Jones Jr., were nearly as spectacular while leading their NFL teams to victory on Sunday. And then there is the story of former Cal standout Chad Hansen, who was elevated from the Texans' practice squad to the active roster on Saturday and had a big day on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers started the day as the NFL leader in passer rating (117.6), touchdown passes (33) and touchdown-to-interception margin (plus-29), and he did not hurt himself in any of those categories by going 25-for-34 for 295 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 128.9 passer rating.

That gives Rodgers 36 touchdown passes for the season and will raise his passer rating slightly.

He threw the 400th touchdown pass of his career in Sunday’s game and he did it in his 193rd NFL game, the faster than any NFL player has reached the 400-TD milestone.

More importantly it added up to a 30-16 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles to improve the Packers’ record to 9-3.

Aaron Rodgers speaks to the media:

Rodgers and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes seem to be locked into a two-man race for the MVP award, with the Chiefs playing the night game Sunday.

---Rams quarterback Jared Goff bounced back from his poor performance the previous week against the 49ers by completing 37-of-47 passes for 351 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 104.9 passer in Los Angeles’ 38-28 win over the Cardinals. He also scored a touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

After committing three turnovers last week, Jared had no turnovers this week while outplaying Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and moving the Rams into a tie for first place in the NFC West.

Goff’s touchdown pass:

Most Fantasy experts were directing people to steer away from the inconsistent Goff this week, but Goff proved them wrong.

---Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. also made the Fantasy experts look bad after many of them suggested Jones would have a tough day against the Bears. But Jones had eight receptions for a season-high 116 yards and a touchdown in Detroit’s 34-30 win.

---Texans wide receiver Chad Hansen was added to the active roster this weekend, and he responded with five receptions for 101 yards in the 26-20 loss to the Colts. It was Hansen's first NFL game since 2017 when he played 15 games for the Jets and made one start.  He had a total of 94 receiving yards in his pro career before Sunday.  It will be hard for the Texans to demote Hansen back to the practice squad after Sunday's showing in his debut with the Texans.

Click here for Hansen's postgame press conference.

Here’s how other former Cal players did Sunday:

---Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen began the day as the NFL leader in receptions with 85, and he added five catches for 48 yards in Los Angeles’ 45-0 loss to the Patriots. That gives Allen 90 catches for the year and will keep him on top in that category.

---Jets rookie safety Ashtyn Davis was again in the starting lineup and picked up six tackles, including five solo stops, against the Raiders. Half of his tackles came against Raiders tight end Darren Waller, who had 13 receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Davis left the game in the third quarter with a leg injury and did not return. Somehow the winless Jets lost that game to Las Vegas 31-28.

---Dolphins running back Patrick Laird made his most significant contributions of the season in Miami’s 19-7 victory over Cincinnati to improve to 8-4. Laird ran the ball three times for 6 yards and also caught two passes for 16 yards.

---Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan did not have the impact he had in the two previous games, but he did record two solo tackles and one quarterback hit in New Orleans’ 21-16 victory over the Falcons.

---Falcons rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins did not record any statistics in the loss to New Orleans.

---Giants linebacker Devante Downs recorded two tackles, including one solo stop, in New York’s 17-12 upset of the Seahawks.

---Texans punter Bryan Anger averaged 48.3 yards on three punts in Houston 26-20 loss to the Colts.

---Long snapper Nick Sundberg and linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk of Washington face nose guard Tyson Alualu of the Steelers on Monday, and Cowboys long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur goes against Ravens’ center-guard Patrick Mekari on Tuesday.

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.Cover photo of Aaron Rodgers by Appleton Post-Crescent, USA TODAY

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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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