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Cal Football in the NFL, week 3: Goff Keeps Rams Undefeated with Big Week

By Sean Bialaszek

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams enters on to the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams enters on to the field before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 16, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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In week three of the NFL season, Jared Goff starred as former Cal football standouts made their impacts around the league.

Former Cal football superstar Jared Goff and his crew continued their hot start to the season, with the Rams beating the Chargers in the Battle of Los Angeles to move to 3-0. For the second straight week, Goff finished with exactly 354 passing yards, one yard shy of matching his personal best. He threw for three scores, and made one of the prettiest throws a quarterback can make when he threaded the needle past two defenders to find Robert Woods on the sideline.

On Sunday, Goff became just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 350 yards and complete at least 75% of his passes in back-to-back games. He finished with at least 300 yards for the seventh time in his career, and threw at least three touchdowns for the sixth time. Goff’s 941 yard through the air ranks fifth in the league, while his 70.3% completion rate is sixth. His 9.3 yards per attempt is tied for third.

In their second year under head coach Sean McVay, the Rams are 3-0 for the first time since the 2001 season. Of course, they were in the midst of their “Greatest Show on Turf” run at that point. With Goff, Todd Gurley, and an excellent receiver group, the Rams have a pretty great show right now as well.

Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan continues to be a terror for opposing quarterbacks. He picked up two more sacks on Sunday against the Falcons and their quarterback Matt Ryan. His second sack of the day was a big one, coming on third-and-three from the Saints’ five-yard line.

Jordan recorded multiple sacks of the 12th time in his career, and has done it in consecutive games for the second time. He had a three-sack game on October 15th, 2015 (also against the Falcons), then followed it up with two sacks the next week. 12 of Jordan’s 63.5 career sacks have come against the Falcons, his most against any opponent, and Ryan has been on the receiving end of each of those sacks.

Around the League:

  • Desean Jackson wasn’t able to match his insane production from the first two weeks of the season, but was able to catch three passes for 37 yards in Tampa Bay’s Monday night loss. He also returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. It would have been his fifth career punt return score had it not been wiped out by a holding call. Jackson is 201 receiving yards shy of 10,000 for his NFL career.
  • C.J. Anderson only carried twice for nine yards for the Panthers, but caught a touchdown pass as Carolina beat the Bengals. Anderson took a backside screen 24 yards for the score, his fifth career receiving touchdown. That gives him 25 career all-purpose touchdowns, tied for eighth-most by a Cal alum in the NFL.

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  • Dallas long snapper L.P. Ladouceur participated in his 208th game on Sunday, passing Craig Morton for seventh-most by a Golden Bear in the NFL. He has not missed a game since debuting for the Cowboys in week four of the 2005 NFL season, leaving him 16 games shy of Ethan Albright’s record for most consecutive games played by an NFL long snapper (224).
  • Chargers nose tackle Brandon Mebane brought Goff down for a sack on the first drive of their game Sunday. He also forced a fumble, causing a big turnover with the Rams in position to put points on the board. For Mebane, it was his first sack since September 11th, 2016, a span of 27 games, giving him 17.5 career sacks.
  • Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch carried 19 times for 64 yards, and went airborne to score a touchdown from the one-yard line. It was his third rushing touchdown of the season and the 84th of his career, a Cal record.

Next. Pro Bears, week 2: Jackson Goes Deep. dark

  • Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers couldn’t lead his team to a win against Washington on Sunday, but threw for 265 yards while completing 27 of his 44 pass attempts. For the third straight game, he didn’t thrown an interception, giving him 116 straight pick-free pass attempts to begin the season. He also surpassed 5,000 career pass attempts. 
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