Defense leads Rams’ Super Bowl pursuit

Published 7:51 am Thursday, January 31, 2019

ATLANTA — Practically every member of the Los Angeles Rams has a favorite story about Aaron Donald’s feats of ridiculous athleticism.

Michael Brockers loved the moment at Carolina in 2016 when Donald beat the Panthers’ left guard and launched himself like Superman, swallowing up Cam Newton while airborne.

Nickell Robey-Coleman preferred the game at San Francisco this season when Donald shredded a double-team and sacked C.J. Beathard — not by grabbing him, but by shoving the 49ers’ center into his own quarterback.

Email newsletter signup

“Aaron can do things you didn’t know were possible,” said Rams defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, no stranger to improbable feats himself.

Donald is the NFL’s current sacks champion, the only unanimous All-Pro and a probable two-time league Defensive Player of the Year. But Los Angeles’ powerful defensive tackle has one more daunting task in the Super Bowl.

Donald and the Rams must figure out how to pressure Tom Brady, who completely stumped the New England Patriots’ first two playoff opponents.

The Chargers and Chiefs never sacked the 41-year-old superstar while he sat comfortably behind his stellar offensive line and picked apart their defenses for 691 yards passing, completing 71.1 percent of his throws.

Donald, who set an NFL record for sacks by an interior lineman with 20½ this season, believes Los Angeles (15-3) can do what the Chargers and Chiefs couldn’t.

“We’ll get to him, but we have to stay patient and don’t get frustrated,” Donald said. “We’ve got a great secondary that will do its job and make sure he doesn’t have easy throws. If he has to hold onto the ball, we’ll have our chances. We just have to go get him.”

The Rams have been assembling the tools for this job all year long.

In the spring, they signed the imposing Suh to a $14 million deal. They also acquired Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, two elite cornerbacks who can create chances for their pass rush.

They gave a six-year, $135 million contract extension to Donald in late August, making their best player happy after two offseason holdouts. He responded with the best season of his stellar career.

Los Angeles then acquired edge rusher Dante Fowler from Jacksonville in late October, adding a speedy outside pass-rushing threat to a roster that lacked it. Fowler has 1½ sacks and six quarterback hits in the Rams’ past four games — including the biggest hit of LA’s season, forcing Drew Brees’ overtime interception in the NFC championship game.