Pro Bears Week 1

The 2020 NFL season is officially underway and there are 28 Golden Bears on rosters, with 19 on active 53-man rosters.  To keep you entertained in the absence of Pac-12 football, we’ll kick off a weekly overview today of how former Golden Bears are handling themselves in the NFL.

This past week was a good one with several former Bears putting up impressive displays. Aaron Rodgers had a tremendous performance in Minneapolis, showing speculators why he’s considered one of the all-time greats. Cal’s other premier quarterback Jared Goff had a shaky start, but still finished with a win. Cam Jordan had a good game making plays for New Orleans and Tyson Alualu got his 100th career start. We also saw rookies Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins getting in on tackles in their first games as NFL safeties. All in all it was a solid weekend for the Bears.

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers put on a terrific display, launching 4 touchdown passes and 364 passing yards in a 43-24 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota boasts one of the best defenses in the league, so this was pretty tragic for them. What’s baffling is that the Packers spent their first round pick in this year’s draft on a quarterback, which has caused “experts” to speculate Rodgers’ future in Green Bay. Well, the two-time MVP had something to say about that.

Looking as nimble and accurate as ever, the 36-year-old showcased his classic ability to throw accurately on the run, dazzling fans on multiple plays that could not be repeated by more than a couple other quarterbacks in the NFL. He showed speculators that he’s still one of the best, if not the best, quarterbacks in the league, and the tape says it all. Enjoy Cal fans.

His complete stat line was: 4 TD/ 0 INT/ 364 Yds/ 73 Cmp%/ 127.5 Passer Rating 

32 completions. 364 yards. 4 TDs.@AaronRodgers12 was on FIRE in Week 1! 🔥#GBvsMIN | #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/GpJqlQEuh2

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 14, 2020

Jared Goff

Jared Goff put on a forgettable performance, throwing for 0 touchdowns and 1 interception in a win against the Cowboys. Despite his poor stat line, he had a strong impact, leading the Rams to a touchdown-drive with 60 passing yards in the first possession of the game. After that, Goff’s offense wasn’t forced to punt once until the end of the 4th quarter, getting points, a missed field goal, and one interception until then. Still, the Marin County native struggled in the end zone and that’s something he’ll have to improve on going forward.

His complete stat line was: 0 TD/ 1 INT/ 265 Yds/ 65 Cmp%/ 79.4 Passer Rating

Can we appreciate how great of a throw this was from Jared Goff? Probably the best ball placement I saw in the NFL’s Week 1 action. pic.twitter.com/9hp5HglHYn

— Alex Gilstrap (@AlexGilstrap) September 15, 2020

Jared Goff ranked 4th among all QBs (min. 10 dropbacks) in yards per attempt during Week 1

He's set to face an Eagles team that ranked 21st in the league last season in team coverage grade#RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/5h4VqEezuf

— PFF LA Rams (@PFF_Rams) September 16, 2020

Tyson Alualu

Making his 100th career start, Tyson Alualu is one of more than a few Cal Bears on this list that’ve been in the league for a long time. He’s currently the longest-tenured NFL player from Hawaii. But as the Kalihi native showed on Monday, the 11-year veteran still has plenty left in the tank. Alualu got the start at nose tackle, and got 4 tackles, including 2 for a loss, contributing to a very impressive performance by the Steeler defensive line that stifled stud RB Saquon Barkley to just 6 yards on the ground on 15 attempts. Way to start the season Tyson. 

Alualu is playing on the second year of a 2 year, $5,750,000 contract he signed in February of 2019. If he plays well this year, we could very well see his long career continue. Watch below to see him break through the line to get a tackle in the backfield.

DeSean Jackson

Playing in his 13th season, 33-year old DeSean Jackson recorded two receptions for 46 yards along with 1 tackle in a 27-17 loss to Washington. Jackson leads all NFL players with a career 17.4 yards per reception and he added to that tally with his two long grabs on Sunday. Jackson made an impact early, getting his first grab on the second play from scrimmage for 19 yards and was targeted 7 times. A concern, however, is that he only played 38 out of 68 offensive snaps. This wasn’t due to injury as evidenced by this tweet.

For the record I wasn’t hurt or didn’t get hurt. I’m good.

— Desean Jackson (@DeSeanJackson10) September 14, 2020

The real reason he didn’t get as many snaps as he’d like is probably due to his core-muscle tear last year that caused him to miss 13 games. On Monday coach Doug Pederson said “Obviously, he’s a big part of the offense,” adding that “At the same time, we want to make sure he’s a guy who’s healthy and fresh for us down the long haul here. I think each week, I would anticipate his rep count to increase as we go. We’re going to be smart with him, but we also know he’s an explosive receiver for us, and we want to get him on the field as much as possible moving forward.” It's probably a good thing Jackson’s snap count is down, at least for the time being. We wouldn’t want the Cal legend’s career to be cut short by some awful injury. Expect him to pick up more playing time as the season progresses.

Marvin Jones Jr

With Detroits’ flagship wide receiver Kenny Golladay out, Marvin Jones Jr came out as the de facto number one option for the Lions on Sunday. He had a modest performance, garnering 4 receptions for 55 yards on 8 targets. His main highlight of the day was a thunderous run where he bulldozed through a Bears defender, showing his fantastic strength and technique. Watch below for the play. In the last year of his contract, there are talks of him getting traded to another team to give the Lions some draft picks. A possible suitor are the San Francisco 49ers, who are desperate for some healthy recievers. Would be interesting to see Marvin back in the bay. 

Marvin Jones Jr. runs over the Bears DB 😳

(via @NFL)pic.twitter.com/ghWckdbnB2

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 13, 2020

Cam Jordan

Commended as one of “most underrated” players in the NFL by Tom Brady a few weeks ago, Cam Jordan showed the former Pat exactly why he shouldn’t be in the Saints win against the Brady-led Buccaneers. Looking spry, the 31-year old Jordan finished the game with 4 tackles and a quarterback hit. He made some highlight plays, but also has garnered some scrutiny for allegedly punching a defenseless player.

#94 Cam Jordan losing his cool and throwing a punch. pic.twitter.com/xawY7pspvP

— Kevin Henderson Sr (@Kevin_HSr) September 13, 2020

The footage is unclear, but at least the 9-year pro hasn’t lost his bite. Jordan will look to extend his three-year streak of 12+ sacks this season and will suit up against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night.

Mitchell Schwartz

Mitchell Schwartz didn’t have his best game, giving up a rare sack on the first Kansas City drive of the game. Not a good way to start the season. Still, Schwartz made some good plays, including an impressive matador move against three-time defensive player of the year JJ Watt. Watch below to witness Schwartz use his hands to bait Watt into making a mistake. Schwartz will look to do better next game in his 137th straight start in the NFL.

.@Chiefs @MitchSchwartz71 has started 136 straight #NFL games and every one is pretty much the same; unusually consistent. And now playing the #Matador game with JJ. Only truly confident players try this with the #MVP behind him #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/EYwQmOTcQs

— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) September 12, 2020

Alex Mack

Alex Mack entered the contest on Sunday for his 81st consecutive start, playing all 79 snaps in the game. He’s as durable as it gets but at age 35 there are question marks as to whether or not he will play after this final year of his 5-year $45,000,000 contract. There’s no question as to whether or not he’s capable of continuing, but at 35 nobody knows, and gives reason to why the Falcons took the number one center in the draft Matt Hennessy in the third round. Nonetheless, the offensive captain played well on Sunday, sitting as an anchor to a unit that allowed just 2 sacks to the Seahawks. They’ll have to improve their run protection but they gave Matt Ryan a good amount of cushion. 

.@AtlantaFalcons C Alex Mack hyping up the non-existent crowd in intros is the energy we all need in 2020 🤣 pic.twitter.com/79CnfuEgjv

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 16, 2020

Devante Downs

2018 7th-round pick Devante Downs made his first career start on Sunday for New York. He recorded 1 tackle and got his first career fumble recovery. It wasn’t a great day for his defense, which allowed 26 points to Pittsburgh, but Downs got a chance to prove himself after recording just 4 tackles in the two years prior. Downs got the start after impressing in training camp over the summer, getting first-team reps at the beginning and staying there. Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said that “athletic ability” is what sticks out about Downs in his tape, and added that his demeanor is what you are looking for at the linebacker position. It’s good to see the strides that Downs has made in 2 years, and will be interesting to see what he can do given this fantastic opportunity.

Unknown Devante Downs is the Giant unlikeliest starter https://t.co/i1YsxMKmgJ

— Paul Schwartz (@NYPost_Schwartz) September 14, 2020

In this play, Downs made a tremendous play on special teams, recovering a muffed punt just 3 yards from the goal line.

Muffed punt! OUR BALL!

Watch 📺: https://t.co/yjv55mRicK pic.twitter.com/Bvt1sncQ7L

— New York Giants (@Giants) September 14, 2020

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen had a quiet Sunday with 37 yards on eight targets. This can be attributed to poor quarterback play by Tyrod Taylor, who only completed 16 passes in the Chargers’ win. On the bright side, the second-highest paid wide receiver in the league got a massive 26.7% target share, showing that he’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future. If his quarterback continues to struggle, LA will look to put in Oregon rookie Justin Herbert instead. Either way, Allen should be fine and will look to bigger things this weekend against Kansas City.

The Rookies

3rd-round pick Ashtyn Davis made an impact immediately as a rookie with one kickoff return for 16 yards and one special teams tackle in a 27-17 Week 1 loss at Buffalo. He’ll look to garner more minutes in weeks to come and will have plenty of opportunities to impress. 4th-round pick Jaylinn Hawkins also got time on special teams and made one tackle in a 38-25 loss to Seattle. Both safeties are listed as second-stringers on their teams’ respective depth charts.

Hey Ashtyn Davis, let's not do this any more #Jets pic.twitter.com/W8G9aCgsUG

— Conor the Mick (@TheNJMick) September 13, 2020

Other Cal Bears that played include:

• Stephen Anderson, TE, LA Chargers, 4^th Season
  • Played but did not record any statistics other than participation in a 16-13 Week 1 win at Cincinnati
• Bryan Anger, P, Houston Texans, 10^th Season
  • Punted three times for a 41.0 average and also had a 41.0 net along with two punts inside the Chiefs' 20-yard line in a 34-20 loss at Kansas City in a Week 1 Thursday night game that opened the NFL season
• L.P. Ladouceur, LS, Dallas Cowboys, 16^th Season
  • Extended the NFL's longest current consecutive regular-season games played steak that is also 12th all-time in the league to 238 in a 20-17 Week 1 victory over Dallas by participating off the bench but recording no statistics other than participation
• Patrick Laird, RB, Miami Dolphins, 2^nd Season
  • Had two receptions for nine yards in a 21-11 Week 1 loss at New England
• Patrick Mekari, OG, Baltimore Ravens, 2^nd Season
  • Played and took 16 snaps including 10 on offense but did not record any statistics other than participation in a 38-6 Week 1 win over Cleveland
• Richard Rodgers, TE, Philadelphia Eagles, 7^th Season
  • Played but did not record any statistics other than participation in a 27-17 Week 1 loss at Washington
• Nick Sundberg, LS, Washington Football Team, 11^th Season
  • Played but did not record any statistics other than participation in a 27-17 Week 1 win over Philadelphia