The Shadow of Aaron Donald

(News4usonline.com) – Aaron Donald missed the Rams’ Week 4 game against the Philadelphia Eagles due to a sore back. The absence of Donald left the Rams without two of their biggest stars on the defensive side of the ball-Donald and Myles Garrett-to battle the Eagles. 

Minus their two stalwarts, the defensive unit played its best game of the short season, coming up with four sacks, holding Philadelphia to less than 200 yards (172) in total offense and keeping the Eagles out of the endzone in the second half of an eventual 24-20 road win. 

Adding another layer to the victory, the Rams didn’t allow the Eagles to convert a single third down (0-12) in the game. Donald was impressed with his teammates’ performance. 

“I was proud of how the defense played,” Donald said after a team practice. “I think they played dominant football. The way the offense kept going and found their way to win the game with the last two drives. I think that was great team football. Found a way to winning on the road in Philly. That was hard. I think it was a hard-fought game, earned win.”   

Donald was so excited about the way the defense played and how they bottled up Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts, he wished he was out on the field. The Rams limited Hurts to just 93 yards passing for the entire game.  

“I wish I was out there,” Donald remarked. “I was like, ‘Damn, I wish I was out there!’ I was proud of them. I think they played good. They battled. Even when I watched it on film, even what the guys did up front [DE Braden] Fiske, [DE] Kobie [Turner] and those guys. We left some sacks on the field, but they affected them a lot, making him uncomfortable and did what they needed to do to win.” 

Making quarterbacks and offensive backfields uncomfortable is something that Donald knows how to do pretty well. After all, he was a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year before he retired, wielding a general view as the perhaps the most unblockable force in the league. 

When the Rams signed and brought in Garrett, another pass-rush menace, in the offseason, the move paved the way for Donald to make a return back to the NFL and rejoin the team he had spent 10 seasons playing. 

It’s been a welcoming atmosphere. Nose tackle Poona Ford is a veteran of NFL trench battles. He’s been there and done that. Playing in his ninth year, Ford said Donald’s presence in the locker room and on the field has been a lift.   

“I feel like it’s been great so far, you know, as far like everybody just elevating around him and each other,” Ford said earlier this season. 

Ford sees playing with Donald as an opportunity to learn from one of the best. 

“It helps me because, you know, I get to learn from one of the greats,” Ford said. “Rarely people get to do that in this league, and with a player like that you just try to take what you can and just put it to your game.” 

Kobie Turner had the luxury of playing alongside Donald in his rookie campaign. The fourth-year defensive tackle knows too well what it feels like to line up in practice and in football games with the greatness of Donald standing nearby.  

“It’s another reason to play even harder,” Turner said. “Obviously, you don’t want to let a guy like that down. And then, you know, to be able to see what he’s been able to do coming off two years away, and continue to see him putting in the work to continue to  get back the feeling, feeling like he’s playing really, really good ball, has been special.”

One of the long-term developments of the Rams’ win against the Eagles could be that LA’s defense may have finally found its identity. And that would be to bring pressure.  

For the first few weeks of the season, the identity of the Rams defense was incomplete. LA’s win against the Eagles changed that dynamic. 

Without Garrett and Donald, the Rams found a way to disrupt Hurts and Philadelphia’s offense with dialed-up pressure from everywhere. This may be the best pathway forward for Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula and his group. 

It won’t hurt to have Donald back on the field. Donald is optimistic he’s close to being physically ready and in football shape.  

“I had two holdouts here so I missed two training camps. I do feel good,” Donald said. “I don’t feel like my wind is off. I don’t feel like I’m out there exhausted. I think the way we were able to rotate helped me a lot, but I do feel good. Just have to keep going, try to be more productive, do what I need to do. That’s out there playing a game, but I’m feeling good.” 

The expectancy for Donald to return to dominance is exceedingly high. The pairing of Donald with Garrett (when he returns) on the defensive line has raised those expectations. 

Having these two dominant fixtures playing alongside one another automatically raises the bar for the Rams’ defense to go from very good to elite. That chapter is still being written.  

As the Rams get ready to play Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in a Monday Night Football showdown in Week 5, the “Aaron Donald Experience Part II” is still getting re-acclimated. 

Donald did not play in Week 1 and missed out on the team’s huge win against the Eagles. In the couple of games he has played (New York Giants, Denver Broncos), Donald has shown flashes of dominance.  

Having Donald on the defensive line to help chase down a roving Allen and an extremely talented Buffalo offense would certainly be an assist for Los Angeles. Rams head coach Sean McVay is leaning towards being hopeful that Donald will suit up against the Bills.     

“The hope is yes,”McVay said during his midweek press conference. “We’ll see. The fact that he’s limited is a good thing and we’ll just see how he responds, but everything has been progressing in the right direction.”