Cal in the NFL: Week 9

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.

• Last week, a single tackle was an exciting stat-line for Devante Downs as it represented his first official NFL action. While we are still so excited to have his as a member of our Cal in the NFL family, producing the exact same stat-line of one tackle the following week isn’t nearly as remarkable. We will have to continue to wait to see a true breakout for Downs, but for now, we will be more than happy with a small contribution in a 24-9 win for the Vikings.
• The much anticipated Saints vs. Rams game did not disappoint in the slightest, as the game ended up being a highly entertaining offensive shootout that ended up in a 45-35 win for the Saints. This fast-paced game didn’t allow for much defense, so star Cameron Jordan was only able to grab two tackles on the day.
• The Carolina Panthers offense had their way with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, scoring 42 points en route to a 42-28 victory. However, CJ Anderson was left behind in the offensive parade, recording only a single carry that went for one yard.
• On the other side of the Panthers-Bucs game, DeSean Jackson caught two of four targets for 32 yards. While the performance was a tad bit disappointing considering the return of Ryan Fitzpatrick, some big games in the near future are inevitable for this former Bear.

Solid Performances

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

• Okay, there is only one more player left that we have to cover from the Panthers-Bucs game. That player would have to be Buccaneers punter Bryan Anger. Despite the loss, Anger had a pretty good day, punting five times with an average of 46.2 yards/punt, with two of his five punts pinning the opponent in their own 20-yard line.
• Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive tackle Brandon Mebane continued to play like he is in his mid-20s with a five tackle performance in a 25-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks. His 27 tackles on the season have him tied for 20th most among all NFL defensive linemen, ahead of stars such as Fletcher Cox, Chandler Jones, and more.
• The expanded role of Marvin Jones Jr. will have to wait another week as the entire Lions offense struggled in a 24-9 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Jones Jr. did manage to have a solid day, catching 6/8 targets for a total of 66 receiving yards.’
• Giorgio Tavecchio had another solid game filling in at kicker for the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, hitting his only field goal attempt from 27 yards out and converting on all five of his extra-point tries. Tavecchio’s Falcons would go on to win the game by a score of 38-14.

The Offensive Line

The weekly report on our two favorite NFL offensive linemen.

• The Kansas City Chiefs played behind Mitchell Schwartz and the rest of their offensive line on their way to accumulating 499 total yards in an easy 37-21 win over the Cleveland Browns. Also, this.
• In a very similar story to Schwartz and the Chiefs, the Alex Mack and the Atlanta Falcons rode a dominant offensive performance to an easy win over their opponent. The Falcons had 491 total offensive yards in the 38-14 win over the Redskins.

Stars of the Week

The top performances from Week 9.

• Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady squared off for the second time in their illustrious careers on Sunday Night Football this past week, in case you didn’t know. Rodgers played very well, completing 24/43 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns while playing turnover-free football. The same thing can’t be said about the rest of his team, however, as a costly fumble by Aaron Jones in Patriots territory with a tie game led to the game eventually getting away from the Packers.
• Keenan Allen continues to be solid as usual, but this time he was finally able to top the 100-yard threshold once again. In a 25-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Allen caught 6/10 targets for a total of 124 receiving yards. He also added two carries for 28 yards just for good measure. Despite the successful day as a whole, one has to wonder if Allen will score a touchdown again. Like, ever.
• During his first two NFL seasons combined, Maurice Harris had 12 receptions for 128 yards. Coming into this game, Harris had 11 catches for 102 on the season. Then, from out of completely nowhere, Harris had 10 receptions on 12 targets for 124 yards! Wow! It remains to be seen whether or not he can carve out a meaningful role in the Redskins’ offense, but this was definitely a great moment for Harris and Cal fans alike. Who even cares that the Redskins got completely decimated. I wanted to put him as our player of the week so bad! However, his stat line was so similar to Keenan Allen’s that I couldn’t justify it, and our actual POTW recipient played pretty well, I guess.

Player of the Week

• Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams

Sure, the Rams lost their undefeated record in this game, but DID YOU WATCH IT??? This game showed exactly why Jared Goff was the #1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft and why he is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL today. Throughout the whole game, he displayed masterful accuracy, hitting receivers in tight windows and perfectly in-stride so they had no need to slow down to reach the ball.

He even had an insane throw to Cooper Kupp on a 20-yard out route where he had thrown the ball before Kupp had even made his cut.

Yeah, it was insane. Yeah, this guy is good.

Week 9 In Recap

• Great individual performances led to some team success this week, as our Cal players went 8-6 as a whole.
• The average scores of those games favored us as well, giving us a 29-27 win.

Season Record: 76–48–2

Weekly W/L Record: 6-0-3

Pythagorean Win-Loss: 7–2

Bears Record: 5–4 (*sigh*)

GO BEARS!