Ex-Cal QB Jared Goff Ruins Fantasy Predictions in Rams' Win Over Eagles

Aaron Rodgers, Tyson Alualu were among the other former Golden Bears stars who had productive games in the NFL on Sunday, and L.P. Ladouceur remains the active leader in one NFL category

Virtually every Frantasy expert predicted former Cal quarterback Jared Goff would have problems this week, advising Fantasy players to keep Goff on the Los Angeles Rams' bench against the Philadelphia Eagles' strong pass defense.

Well, Goff made the experts look silly on Sunday, completing his first 13 pass attempts and finishing 20-for-27 for 267 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 142.0 passer rating in the Rams' 37-19 victory over the Eagles.

"[Teammates] were kind of joking around with me, 'Hey, we're not going to talk to you,' like when a pitcher's throwing a perfect game," Goff said of his 13-for-13 start.

Goff was not the only former Golden Bears player who had big game in Sunday's NFL action, but spoiling the Fantasy projections put him at the top of our list in Week 2.

Here is Goff's first touchdown pass:

And here is the second:

“Jared made the right decisions all day today,” Rams wide receiver Robert Woods told the Orange County Register. “When to throw it, when to sometimes bring it down and use his legs. Really just being poised, being our leader.”

And Goff got a game ball:

Here are other noteworthy Sunday performances by former Cal players:

---Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers provided more evidence he is not over the hill, as some preseason analysts had suggested. He was 18-for-30 for 240 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 42-21 victory over the Detroit Lions.  

The Packers have scored 85 points in their first two games. They last time they scored 40 points or more in consecutive games was 2014, which also was the last time Rodgers won the league MVP award.

“It’s just schematically so different,” Rodgers said comparing this year's offense to the past. “I like the adjustment we made from Week 1 to Week 2, and I think we did a good job in-game with our adjustments as well, finding ways to move some guys around and get them touches. These [running] backs that we have, it’s just a different type of combination than we’ve had around here in so long.” 

Here are Rodgers' two TD throws:

---Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Tyson Alualu again demonstrated that his move to nose tackle from defensive end was a good one as he collected five tackles, including his first sack of the season, and also knocked down a pass and had two quarterback hits.  Those are impressive numbers for a nose tackle.

Alualu is No. 94 (far right) in this group celebration:

---Detroit Lions wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. had five catches for just 23 yards, but he had his first touchdown reception of the season in the loss to the Packers.

---Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson had a game-high six catches for a team-high 64 yards in the loss to the Rams.

Jackson showed his moves in pregame warmups:

---New York Jets rookie Ashtyn Davis made his first NFL start as a defensive back in the loss to the 49ers. He did not have any defensive statistics, but he did return a kickoff 27 yards.

---Dallas Cowboys long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur played in his 239th consecutive regular-season game Sunday, the longest active streak in the NFL. That ranks 12th alltime, but if Ladouceur plays in the Cowboys' next game he will move into a tie for ninth.

He has played in 248 straight games overall (including playoffs), which is also No. 1 among active players. One more game will tie him for ninth in that category too.

And here is the perfect snap from Ladouceur (No. 91) that led to the game-winning field goal against the Falcons:

---Los Angeles Chargers wide reciever Keenan Allen had seven receptions for 96 yards in the overtime loss to the Chiefs.

---Kansas City offenive tackle Mitchell Schwartz, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2018, allowed a sack for the second week in row, this time to the Chargers' Joey Bosa.

---Baltimore Ravens lineman Patrick Mekari (No. 65) had a key block on this Mark Ingram touchdown run. A backup center, Mekari came in on that play as an extra lineman outside the tackle:

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

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