Cal in the NFL: Week 12

Well, They Played

These guys will show up on the stat sheet but may have not had the greatest of contributions in their respective games.

• Tyson Alualu failed to repeat his breakout performance from Week 11 with two tackles in a 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos.
• For the third time in his last four games, Devante Downs has appeared on the stat sheet! This time it came in a 24-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Sure, it has been with a single tackle in each instance (this week included), but we all know that he has potential for much more if ever given the opportunity.
• Trevor Davis once again played a strictly special teams role in his second game back, this time returning only one punt for a solid gain of 13 yards. As mentioned above, the Packers would lose the game to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 24-17.
• DeSean Jackson was targeted quite a bit this past Sunday, but failed to get much going despite a big 27-9 win for his Buccaneers over the San Francisco 49ers. Jackson caught 3 of 8 targets for 19 yards and also took his only carry for 6 additional yards.
• The Atlanta Falcons continued to struggle with a 31-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving night. Alex Mack and the Falcons offense actually out-gained the Saints (366-312) but only had 26 rushing yards. It all came through the air, but through the air the Falcons fumbled an incredible five times, losing three of them. Matt Ryan also threw one interception, giving the Falcons four total turnovers on the game, which would eventually prove to be their downfall.

Solid Performances

Some solid, albeit unspectacular, performances from our former Bears.

• Aaron Rodgers had another “meh” performance this past Saturday. It sure has been surprising to see one of the most talented quarterbacks in football history have such a down year, and whether than can be attributed to health, coaching, or Rodgers himself, it has frustrated Packers and Cal fans alike. This game, Rodgers completed 17/28 passes for 198 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. It wasn’t enough as the Packers fell to the Vikings by a score of 24-17.
• While DeSean Jackson didn’t play well in the Buccaneers win over the 49ers, our other Cal representative from the Bucs certainly did. Bryan Anger had one of his best games of the season, punting five times and averaging exactly 46 yards/punt. His longest punt went for 56 yards and two of his punts pinned the 49ers inside of their own 20-yard line. As a result of his punting, the 49ers found themselves in poor field position, and this was a huge factor in the Bucs eventually winning the game.

Stars of the Week

This week, we see a pair of defensive studs put up some of their best performances of the season.

• Cameron Jordan had been lacking some big statistical games so far this season. That was until Thanksgiving night. Jordan wreaked havoc on the Falcons’ offensive line (sorry Alex Mack), sacking Matt Ryan twice and recording four total tackles.
• The Buffalo Bills came out with a 24-21 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game that they really didn’t have any business winning. A huge reason for this was the Bills defense, and it was led this week by our very own Lorenzo Alexander. Alexander had himself a monster day, getting one sack and making eight total tackles.

Player of the Week

• Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers

With Jared Goff enjoying his bye week, we finally see a new Player of the Week! Cam Jordan and Lorenzo Alexander had great games in their own right, but Keenan Allen definitely had the best performance of them all.

After struggling a bit in the mid-season, Allen has been on fire as of late. This past week, the Chargers offense went completely bananas, scoring 45 points on their way to a 45-10 win over the Cardinals. And Allen was a huge reason why.

He caught all seven of his targets in a game where Phillip Rivers only threw 1(!) incompletion. Allen took those seven catches for 72 yards and a touchdown, solidifying his position as one of the top offensive weapons on one of the best offensive teams in football. Oh yeah, and he did a lot of his damage against one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, Patrick Peterson.

Week 12 In Recap

• While there weren’t a ton of huge performances this week, our Cal players got back in the overall win column, going 6-4 as a whole.
• The average scores of those games favored us as well, giving us a 25-19 win.

Season Record: 94–69–2

Weekly W/L Record: 8-1-3

Pythagorean Win-Loss: 10–2

Bears Record: 7–4!!!

GO BEARS!