Cal Football in the NFL, Week 5: Big Day from Big Arms

A couple of former Cal football quarterbacks had big days on Sunday, leading former Golden Bears who are playing in the pros.

The Rams just keep on winning with former Cal football star Jared Goff at the helm. They beat the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, improving to 5-0 and taking a full three-game lead in the NFC West. Goff completed 23 of his 32 passes, racking up 321 yards and a touchdown.

It marked Goff’s fourth straight game over 300 passing yards, bringing him up to an NFL-leading 1,727 yards on the season. His arm continues to shine through, but he was able to seal the game with his legs. With the Rams up 33-31 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, the Rams faced a fourth-and-one in their own territory. Head coach Sean McVay opted to go for it instead of playing conservative, trusting his quarterback to pick up the yard on a sneak. Goff put his head down, followed left guard Rodger Saffold, and iced the game with a two-yard pickup.

Goff was also intercepted twice, with both coming off deflected balls. It was his first multi-interception game since week five of last year, nearly a year to the day.

Goff wasn’t the only former Cal quarterback to pile up the yardage on Sunday. In a losing effort to Detroit, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers threw for 442 yards, the second-highest total of his career, while hitting on 32 of his 52 attempts. He was able to bounce back after a slow start, during which he missed 10 of his first 19 tries, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Detroit’s big early lead. He was also sacked four times, and lost a pair of fumbles.

While Drew Brees became the NFL’s all-time leading passer, Rodgers reached a significant milestone of his own. He crossed 40,000 career yards, and sits 20th on the league’s career leaderboard with 40,074 yards. His 323 touchdowns are 10th-most.

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On Monday night, a former Cal receiver had one of his best days in the NFL. Washington wide receiver Maurice Harris, now in his third season, missed the early portion of the season with an injury, but was able to catch three passes for 48 yards while his team lost to the Saints. He matched his career-high in catches, while his yardage was second-best. He caught a 42-yard pass early in the fourth quarter, the longest catch of his career.

On the other side in that Monday night game, Saints’ defensive end Cameron Jordan picked up another sack, bringing him up to five on the season and and 64.5 on the season. He also added a pair of tackles for loss, giving him seven on the season. He’s well on his way to the fourth 10-sack year of his career.

Around the League:

Chargers wideout Keenan Allen matched his season-high with eight catches, and picked up 90 yards. His 32 catches on the year are tied for 14th in the league.

Cowboys long snapper L.P. Ladouceur was back on the field again on Sunday in Dallas’ loss to the Texans, his 210th consecutive game dating back to 2005. He’s 14 games shy of tying Ethan Albright’s NFL record for most games played in a row by a long snapper.

Lions’ receiver caught just one pass on Sunday, but it was a big one. His eight-yard reception came in the back of the endzone, giving him 31 career touchdowns.