Facing the defending Super Bowl champs in their own house was never going to be a cakewalk for the Cowboys.
Attempting to neutralize the presence of seven-time All-Pro and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald was precisely the sort of task that Jason Peters was signed for back in September. With the 40-year-old veteran a late-week scratch due to a chest injury, though, the responsibility will now fall mainly on Connor McGovern, fresh off a high ankle sprain he suffered in Week 1.
That’s less than ideal, but it doesn’t change how the entire Dallas offense has to approach Donald.
“He’s a true game-wrecker,” said quarterback Cooper Rush, who’ll make his fourth consecutive start under center for the Cowboys. “He’s the best in the game for a reason. You have to account for him in the run game and pass game. He’s the best to ever do it at that position, and it shows every week on tape.”
Donald’s stats aren’t eye-popping- just 15 tackles and two sacks through four games- but that’s partly because opponents have expended so much manpower just to try to contain him. Chips, double-teams, triple-teams… every strategy just leaves fewer bodies to actually move the ball.
“The reality is, you’re trying to take him out of the game, with the attention that you give him. You can’t really play it that close to the vest all day long, because let’s not forget what they have on the other side of the ball,” head coach Mike McCarthy said Friday morning on 105.3 The Fan. “That goes into your thinking here, but I think the biggest thing is you try to give that player as much attention as you possibly can. And by doing that, you try to minimize his impact on the game.”
And don’t forget, there are 10 other defenders on the field with Donald, including legitimate heavy hitters like Bobby Wagner, Jalen Ramsey, and others. Focus too much on Donald, and someone else wearing horns on their helmet is going to get home.
“It’s not always me,” Donald admitted per Rams Wire. “Lot of other good football players out there that need to win their one-on-ones. If they want to find ways to focus on one guy, that’s the opportunity for other guys to be the playmakers.”
Collectively, the Rams defense currently allows an average of seven yards per pass attempt and 3.9 yards per carry. The Cowboys’ air attack is averaging 6.6 yards per throw; their ground game, four yards per run. To maintain or beat those averages on Sunday, Rush will be looking for the 280-pound Donald every time he breaks the huddle.
“You’ve always got to know where 99 is,” the quarterback added. “And he’s used to it; every week, teams do it to him and he still produces.”
Cowboys right guard Zack Martin says the offensive line’s preparation hasn’t necessarily been any different this week with Donald on the docket.
“You’ve got to bring your A-game every single week, whoever you’re going against,” he explained.
That’s because it’s generally impossible to predict who will be staring into Donald’s facemask across the line of scrimmage on any given snap.
“They don’t really care who it’s against. They’re just trying to find a one-on-one for him,” Martin said. “In my experience, he’s played all over the place.”
But now McGovern and his newly-healed ankle will be stepping in for Peters on the left side of an offensive line that already features a 21-year-old rookie in Tyler Smith.
So it may have just become a little easier to find where Donald is lined up more often than not come Sunday.
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