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Lindsey ThiryESPN
Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald stood on the sidelines at Lambeau Field and failed to hold back tears as the clock fell 32-18 to the Green Bay Packers in a playoff round. divisional.
Rams coach Sean McVay and defensive end Eric Henderson tried to console Donald, who played just one week on Saturday, moving away from suffering a significant rib injury in a victory in the wild-card playoff.
“I love Aaron Donald, it means a lot to him,” McVay said after the game, “and it’s unfortunate he wasn’t at his best.”
Before Saturday’s game, Donald said he was fine, strong and ready to play. But twice the NFL’s defensive player of the year was clearly limited against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Wearing a protective lining on the ribs, Donald played only 55% of the snaps, compared to his 85% season average, although McVay said he is not on a snap number.
“Aaron is able to obey,” McVay said. “The plan that was to come in was to see how he was feeling, he always had the ability to tell us how he was feeling.”
Donald was in the double team on 15 of the 21 passing chips and failed to record a victory in the passing race – winning a block in 2.5 seconds – only for the second time in 2017, according to ESPN values provided by NFL Next Gen Stats. He put pressure on Rodgers, however the pack defender completed a 33-yard pass to tight end Robert Tonyan in the game.
Rams’ defensive line, Michael Brockers, expressed his disappointment for Donald after the game.
“It’s hard for a guy like him to work as hard as he can to put in everything he does,” Brockers said, adding later.[I] I just need to talk to him, tell him, “Man, this isn’t about you, it’s not about you – there’s no reason you should feel that way, [that] you feel like you’ve failed or something. You gave us everything you have and you are the reason we are here. “
Donald finished the regular season 2nd in the NFL with 13.5 sacks and added two more in the 30-20 wild-card victory over the Seattle Seahawks.
Rams’ defense ended the regular season in 1st place in the NFL in efficiency, yards allowed per game (281.9) and points allowed per game (18.5).
However, Rodgers and Packers collected 484 meters of offense and kept Rams’ defense on the field, dominating possession time, from 36:12 to 23:48.
Earlier on Saturday, the Rams hadn’t let an opponent score this season on his first three drives, but the Packers scored five straight to open the game, including a 14-game, 84-yard touchdown that was extended when Donald – in apparent frustration – received a penalty for unnecessary harshness when he grabbed Elgton Jenkin’s face mask offensively.
Donald was not made available to reporters after the match.