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Pro Bears Week 4

October 6, 2020
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Week 4 of the NFL season was highlighted by a couple Golden Bears, including Aaron Rodgers in another great performance Monday night against the Falcons. Throwing for three touchdowns and 228 yards in the first half, he lit up the Falcons with his top-two wideouts unavailable with injuries. Jared Goff also had a good performance, throwing a 55-yard touchdown to seal the Rams win against the Giants.

Rookie Jaylinn Hawkins thoroughly impressed on his second career start. He made five tackles before leaving the game with a head injury, contributing to a goal-line 4th down stop on what was “maybe the play of the season for the Falcons defense” per one of the Monday Night Football announcers.

Aaron Rodgers

In a home win against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers completed 27 of 33 attempts for 327 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions to get the Green Bay Packers to 4-0. To start the season, he has thrown for no interceptions, leads the league in QBR, and is on one of four teams that are 4-0. The 16-year pro has made a strong case to be an MVP frontrunner.

Without his top two wide-outs, DaVante Adams and Allen Lazard, Rodgers was left with no-namers and still was able to lead his offense drive-after-drive. In the absence of his two biggest target hogs, Rodgers turned to his two main running backs, Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, completing nearly half his passes to the backfield duo. Rodgers also made use of his tight end, getting three touchdowns out of Robert Tonyan.

Rodgers played unphased, made laser-accurate throws, and spread the ball around efficiently. On the Packers’ opening drive, he took the team to a touchdown on just 7 plays for a franchise record-tying 13th straight quarter with a touchdown. By the end of the second half they were up 20-3. His best play of the day was perhaps a touchdown pass to Tonyan to go up 14-3. On 3rd and 14, Rodgers threw his pass while moving backwards, demonstrating his balance and ability to throw on the run.

Rodgers and the Packers showed that they can win no matter who is on the field, as long as No. 12 is out there with receivers that can catch balls and run routes. Next week the Packers have a bye, but in 2 weeks Rodgers will take on the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a matchup for the ages against friendly foe Tom Brady. Tune in on Fox at 1:25 Sunday to catch the game.

Jared Goff

Goff completed 25 of 32 attempts for 200 yards, 1 touchdown, and no interceptions in a 17-9 home win against the New York Giants on Sunday. That gives the Novato native 1062 yards, 6 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and a 72% completion rate through the first four games, putting him on track to finish better than he performed last year. 

After leading the Rams to an opening-drive touchdown, Goff was highly mediocre, getting no touchdowns and just three points out of his offense until the end of the game. Up by just 1 point to the 0-3 Giants in the 4th quarter, things weren’t looking fantastic for the Rams. Then, with 6:56 to play on third down, something magical happened. Goff found his favorite receiver Cooper Kupp for a play-of-the-game 55-yard touchdown grab, giving the Rams a 17-9 lead. The touchdown was more of a nice run than a great throw, but Goff got it done damnit.

“We knew we needed a drive to win,” Goff said. “We were disappointed about how the rest of the game went but we needed it there and we got it done.”

“Three and one is great,” said Goff. “It’s better than 2-2, 1-3 or 0-4, but you would love to be 4-0.”

Next week, Goff and the Rams will take on the 1-3 Washington Football Team at 10:00 on Sunday.

Jaylinn Hawkins

Hawkins made five tackles and one tackle for loss in a 16-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Monday night. In just his second start as an Atlanta Falcon, the 23-year old played fearlessly, getting tackles in the backfield, on the sidelines, and in the open field showing he can be a do-it-all safety in this league. His biggest impact was on an assisted tackle on a goal-line stop on 4th down. With the Packers just 1 yard away from the end-zone, Hawkins got into the trenches and helped his linebacker keep 200 pound Jamal Williams out of the end-zone. The announcer called it “maybe the play of the season for the Falcons defense.”

It’s a shame that he was taken out with a head injury after just one half. With four of their safeties currently dealing with injuries, the Falcons will need him sooner than later. Nonetheless, Hawkins impressed and looks to have a bright future.

Keenan Allen

Allen caught 8 of 12 targets for 62 yards in the Chargers’ 38-31 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. On one play, he demonstrated that he’s not only an elite route-runner but also great with his hands, making a beautiful toe-tap grab in really tight coverage. No wonder he’s Herbert’s favorite target.

Allen has now accumulated 28 receptions on 41 targets for 290 yards and a touchdown in three games with Justin Herbert under center. The two seem to have a great connection, with Allen leading the team in yards, receptions, targets, and pretty much every receiving category except touchdowns. The 28-year old will look to continue his strong start to the season on Monday night against the Saints.

Cam Jordan

Jordan made 4 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for loss in a 35-29 win over the Detroit Lions. After going three games without a sack for the first time since his rookie season, Jordan finally found pay dirt, bringing Matthew Stafford down on a key 3rd and 3 with the Saints down 7-14. Finishing 3rd in league in sacks last year, he’ll look to rack up more as the season progresses. Next week Jordan and the Saints will take on the Chargers Monday night.

Devante Downs 

Downs recorded a career-high-tying four tackles in a 9-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. He now has nine tackles and one fumble recovery in his first three career starts. Although he has earned the privilege of starting three games for the Giants, they’re 0-4 making them one of four teams in the NFL that are winless. Hopefully the defense will step up for Downs’ sake. On a more positive note, here’s a video of Downs putting someone on their ass in the preseason.

Mitchell Schwartz

Thankfully, Schwartz improved a paltry start to the 2020 season, giving up no sacks or penalties in the Chiefs’ 26-10 victory over the New England Patriots on Monday night. After giving up zero sacks on every single snap of the Chiefs season in 2019, Schwartz has already given up two this year. On the positive side, he’s given up zero penalties. 

Schwartz played well against the Patriots, making 300-lb defensive linemen look like rag dolls on a couple plays. For example:

Alex Mack

Mack’s only interesting stat for Monday Night was that he got his 84th consecutive start in a 16-30 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Whilst his fellow alumni Jaylinn Hawkins made some big plays on defense, Mack did what he could to help the Falcons get all they could get against a tough Packers defensive unit.

Other Cal Bears that played per CalBears.com include:

 

Tags: Football
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Pro Bears Week 4

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