Cal Sports Report

Aaron Rodgers Leads Ex-Cal Performers in Opening NFL Weekend

Packers QB not over the hill yet. Rams' Jared Goff gets a win in bounce-back season. Lions receiver Marvin Jones Jr. provides the hit of the day -- on offense
Jake Curtis|
Aaron Rodgers Leads Ex-Cal Performers in Opening NFL Weekend
Aaron Rodgers Leads Ex-Cal Performers in Opening NFL Weekend

Preseason reports that former Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on the decline met some opposition in the opening week of the NFL season.

Rodgers completed 32 of 44 passes for 364 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions while leading the visiting Green Bay Packers to a 43-34 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Rodgers had thrown only three touchdown passes in his first four trips to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, but the venue did not have the same impact with no spectators in attendance.

"It was one of the strangest experiences I've had in the NFL, being in a stadium like this to have memories of some really rocking times," said Rodgers, according to Associated Press. "Just a different atmosphere. This is a really tough place to play with the noise."

Rodgers' 127.5 passer rating for this game is better than his career 102.4 passer rating entering the game, which is the best in NFL history.

There was twitter reaction:

Here are two of Rodgers' TD throws:

The Packers scored their most points ever in a season opener.

Rodgers' postgame comments:

Rodgers was not the only former Cal player who made an impression this weekend.

---Marvin Jones Jr. had four catches for 55 yards in the Detroit Lions’ loss to Washington, and he had one the most memorable plays of the weekend. The 199-pound Jones delivered a crushing blow to the Bears’ 195-pound cornerback Jaylon Johnson:

---Jared Goff is looking for a bounce-back season for the Los Angeles Rams after a disappointing 2019 performance, and the former Golden Bears quarterback did enough to get the Rams a 20-17 victory over the Cowboys in the first game at the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

Goff was 20-for-31 for 275 yards, no touchdowns and one interception (although there should have been a penalty on the Cowboys on the pick because Goff got hit hard in the head as he released the ball).  His passer rating of 79.4 is less than spectacular.

The Rams' win was aided by a questionable offensive pass interference call on the Cowboys' final possession.

Here is one nice Goff completion:

---Kansas City’s Pro Bowl offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz had a mixed-bag performance Thursday night against the Houston Texans.

He allowed the only sack the Chiefs yielded, as the Texans’ Jacob Martin beat Schwartz to get to Patrick Mahomes.

But Schwartz did a good job on two-time NFL defensive player of the year J.J. Watt, who did not record any sacks.

---On the coaching front, former Cal linebacker Ron Rivera, who announced a few weeks ago that he has cancer, got a victory in his first game as Washington's head coach as his team rallied from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Eagles 27-17.

---Former Cal wide receiver DeSean Jackson had two catches for 46 yards for the Philadelphia Eagles in their come-from-ahead loss to Washington.

---New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan picked up four tackles, including a tackle for loss, and had one quarterback hurry, but he did not record a sack of Tom Brady in the victory over Tampa Bay.

---Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen is working with a new quarterback (Tyrod Taylor), and they may not have a fine-tuned relationship yet. Allen had four catches for just 37 yards in the 16-13 win over Cincinnati.

---New York Jets rookie Ashtyn Davis recorded one solo tackle on special teams in his first NFL game after the former Golden Bears’ safety was taken in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft.

---Jaylinn Hawkins also recorded a special-teams tackle in his first NFL game, picking up a solo tackle on the Atlanta Falcons’ first kickoff of the season.

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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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