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Aaron Rodgers Gives MVP Performance; Jaylinn Hawkins Makes a Start

Former Cal stars went against each other in Monday Night Football, and the experienced guy won
Jake Curtis|
Aaron Rodgers Gives MVP Performance; Jaylinn Hawkins Makes a Start
Aaron Rodgers Gives MVP Performance; Jaylinn Hawkins Makes a Start

Monday night's Cal vs. Cal competition was hardly a fair fight.

On one side was Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a Golden Bears star in 2003 and 2004 who was making his 196th NFL start, including 18 postseason starts.  On the other side, trying to limit Rodgers' effectiveness, was Atlanta Falcons rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who played for Cal from 2016 to 2019, and was making his second career NFL start.

Hawkins, thrust into a starting role because of injuries to both of Atlanta's first-tring safeties, did all right, collecting five tackles, including three solo stops, and playing a role in the Falcons' defensive stop on a Packers' fourth-down play in the first quarter, as seen here.

However, Hawkins had to leave the game with a concussion, which makes his status for the next game questionable.

Meanwhile, nobody was a match for Rodgers, who is putting himself in position to earn his third MVP award with another outstanding showing.

Rodgers went 27-for-33 with four touchdowns, no interceptions and a 147.5 passer rating in the Packers' 30-16 victory, raising Green Bay's record to 4-0.

ESPN commentator Louis Riddick went out of his way during the game to note that Rodgers can do things that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan can't. And Ryan was the NFL MVP in 2016.

The regular season is only one-quarter of the way through, so MVP discussions are premature.  But early indications are that Rodgers is in the running for his third MVP award.

At this early stage, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Rodgers look like the frontrunners, although you cannot dismiss Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes from the conversation.

At the moment Rodgers ranks second in the NFL in passer rating, behind only Wilson, and, more importantly, he is first in ESPN's total quarterback rating.

The total quarterback rating is a pretty good indicator of which player will be named MVP.  The NFL MVP each of the past two seasons (Lamar Jackson in 2019, Patrick Mahomes in 2018) led the league in total quarterback rating. So did 2016 MVP Matt Ryan and 2013 MVP Peyton Manning.

Rodgers was second in that category when he named MVP in 2014, and led the league in total quarterback rating when he won the award for the first time in 2011.

Take a look at his four touchdown passes on Monday:

First TD pass:

Second TD pass:

Third TD pass:

Fourth TD pass:

By the way, former Cal center Alex Mack was the starting center for the Falcons Monday.

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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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