Cal Football’s NFL Player of the Week: 2017 Week 13

With the Golden Bears’ season over, Cal football fans can turn their attention to the NFL. The Cal alumni player of the week for week 13 is Keenan Allen.

After a prolific career for Cal football, racking up the most catches in school history, Keenan Allen has become a dangerous weapon for the Los Angeles Chargers. The former third-round draft pick continued his fine NFL career on Sunday, leading the way for the Chargers with 10 catches and 105 yards, as well as a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.

His touchdown came on the opening drive of the second half, putting the Chargers in the driver’s seat with a 16-7 lead. It was his third catch of the drive, and out of the slot, Allen shook free of Cleveland cornerback Jason McCourty for a wide-open score.

The 25-year-old receiver went over 1,000 yards on the season, his first season over 1,000 yards since his rookie year in 2013. He’s tied for fourth in the NFL with 77 catches, and is fifth in the league with 1,032 yards.

Allen caught 10 or more passes for over 100 yards while scoring at least one touchdown for the third straight game, after catching 12 balls for 159 yards and two scores in week 11 against the Buffalo Bills and making 11 grabs for 172 yards and a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving in week 12. It was his eighth career game overall with at least 10 catches, and 16th career game with 100-plus yards. He also caught his 21st career touchdown pass in his 50th career game.

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Another big game for Allen leaves him two catches shy of 300 in his NFL career, and when he passes that mark, he will become the sixth Cal alum to reach 300 NFL grabs. The club currently contains Isaac Curtis (417), Sean Dawkins (425), Tony Gonzalez (1,325), Desean Jackson (543), and Wesley Walker (438).

The victory for Los Angeles kept them in the playoff picture, bringing them back to .500 at 6-6 and into a three-way tie for the AFC West lead with the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs.

On the other side, the Browns’ loss dropped them to 0-12 on the season, continuing their chase (if that’s the right word) for a dubious distinction. If they can’t win any of the final four games of the season, they will become the second team in NFL history to finish a season 0-16. The 2008 Detroit Lions currently hold that record.

Honorable Mentions:

Jared Goff put together another solid day for the Los Angeles Rams, completing 21 of his 31 attempts for 220 yards and a pair of score as he led his team to another win. As Goff crossed 3,000 yards in a season for the first time in his NFL career, the Rams won their ninth game to secure their first winning season since 2003.

The Oakland Raiders are back to .500, and in that three-way tie along with the Chiefs and Chargers in the AFC West, with a win on Sunday over the New York Giants. They got a big boost from former Cal star, running back Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 101 yards on 17 carries for his first 100-yard game of the season. He also scored on a 51-yard run in the first quarter, his longest run since a 79-yarder in 2014.

The Denver Broncos had a rough day, falling in a blowout to the Miami Dolphins for their eighth consecutive loss, but running back C.J. Anderson had a productive day. He gained 67 yards on the ground on 15 carries, and also made four catches for 43 yards.

Next: A Retrospective of Wilcox's First Season

It was a big day for another Anderson from Cal, as Houston Texans’ tight end Stephen Anderson set career-highs with five catches and 79 yards, and scored his second career touchdown. It wasn’t enough for the Texans, however, as they lost to the Tennessee Titans.