Three Reasons to Worry About Packers-Rams: Aaron Donald is one

The Green Packers really need to prevail. There are reasons to be afraid of the Los Angeles Rams, even with quarterback Matthew Stafford out of the game.

The Green Bay Packers are in desperate need of a win to salvage their season after they have dropped their last four games. Perfect as planned, Sunday’s opponent at Lambeau Field is the Los Angeles Rams, who might be without quarterback Matthew Stafford.

The Packers have demonstrated that they are capable of losing to any team in the NFL, despite being three-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook. These are the three things to be concerned about this week’s game between the two teams fighting for a postseason spot—the Packers (2-5) and Rams (3-5).

1. Part One of The Obvious: Aaron Donald

Possibly the most overused acronym in human history is “GOAT.” After all, neither everything or everyone can be the best of all time. But Aaron Donald of the Rams may be the greatest defensive lineman of all time, much as Lambeau Field may be the greatest stadium of all time.

However, not every GOAT gets along.

Ever since Donald was selected in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Rams have hosted four games on Lambeau Field. All of them are gone for the Rams.

This week, when asked if he had any particular memories of Lambeau, Donald said, “None.”

Donald has had a blatantly dominant career that should earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame. After each of his nine seasons, he was selected to the Pro Bowl. His seven-year streak of being chosen an All-Pro was broken last season when an injury limited him to just 11 games. The only players to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year three times are Donald, Lawrence Taylor, and J.J. Watt.

“He has his own skill-set and he’s his own different type of player,” Packers guard Jon Runyan said. “He’s not overwhelmingly big but he’s strong, compact, powerful. He’s fast and he’s smart. He knows the ins and outs of offensive line play, tendencies, and he’s able to play off that. He’s not only extremely gifted but he’s also smart. It makes him who he is today. He’s been doing it at a high level for a long time.”

Throughout his career, Donald has racked up 107.5 sacks, with a career-high 20.5 in 2018. There have been 168 tackles for losses since his entry into the league. Not even one other player has 130.

The natural course of action will be to double-team him. Will it succeed? The Rams’ pregame notes package states that Donald has 202 pass-rush victories while being double-teamed over the last five seasons. Compared to other players, that is 71 more.

“He definitely causes a lot of pause on a lot of things that you may want to try to do because he’s such a game-wrecker,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “You’ve got to account for him on every snap. He is a guy that can absolutely take over a game.”

During last season’s Lambeau game, Donald did not play. In the regular season of 2021, the 2020 playoffs, and the 2015 Green Bay games, Donald recorded one quarterback hit, zero sacks, and zero tackles for loss.

What’s the key?

“Making sure we’ve got a lot of hands, a lot of eyes on him at all times,” Runyan said. “We know 99’s been a game-wrecker his whole career. Just not giving him the chance. He’s going to get his every now and then because that’s just the player he is, but minimizing those chances and hedging our bets against him and making sure that he’s not getting his hands on the ball.”

Donald is keen to pursue a quarterback other than Aaron Rodgers, on his part.

“They got a young quarterback there, so we’ve just got to try to do our job to make our plays,” he said. “But it feels pretty good not seeing him back there.”

2. Part Two of The Obvious: Rams Receivers

Due to a thumb injury that kept him off the practice field for the whole week, Stafford’s status is uncertain. One of the toughest people in the NFL, nothing will reduce the swelling more quickly than a glance at Green Bay’s defense and the possible matchups for his outstanding receivers.

Although Keisean Nixon will cover the slot as normal and cornerback Jaire Alexander is set to play despite a back issue, Rasul Douglas’ trade this week has left a major hole at the other cornerback position. Additionally, with Rudy Ford (calf) questionable after missing practice on Friday and Darnell Savage (calf) on injured reserve, both starting safeties may be sidelined.

Two rookies selected in the seventh round may start. Carrington Valentine is expected to replace Douglas at cornerback. Anthony Johnson, who has only played eight snaps this season, might be the next man up at safety if Ford is sidelined.

A few weeks ago, Valentine faced difficulties when facing Courtland Sutton, the leading receiver for the Broncos, because Alexander was out. Sutton is undoubtedly a talented player, but he is not on par with Cooper Kupp.

By leading the NFL in catches (145), yards (1,947), and touchdowns (16) in 2021, Kupp became the fourth player in the Super Bowl era to achieve the coveted Receiving Triple Crown. He was headed for 142 receptions in 2022 before a high-ankle sprain kept him out of the second half of the season.

His hamstring injury kept him out of the first four games this season. He has caught 21 catches for 315 yards and one touchdown in his last four games back in the starting lineup. In seven games, that is more receiving yards than any player for the Packers has had.

The Rams will challenge Valentine early and often because coach Sean McVay is among the best in the business at getting his best players the ball, whether it’s Kupp or surprise sensation Puka Nacua.

“That’s what’s going to happen when you’re a rookie,” Valentine said. “It’s just something I’ve got to live with. Like I say, cut the tape on, learn from it and you keep going.”

Nacua is a fascinating tale. Nacua, a fifth-round pick from BYU who was drafted eighteen picks after the Packers selected Dontayvion Wicks, has the most receptions of any rookie in the NFL history with sixty-one in his first eight games. There are 752 receiving yards for the 20th receiver chosen. That is 310 more than Zay Flowers’ rookie total and ranks third among all players.

Nacua caught 25 passes in his first two games, shattering the NFL record for most catches by a rookie. He is one of just four players in history to begin a career with back-to-back games with ten or more catches for one hundred or more yards.

“Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the kid until probably three or four weeks ago when he started coming onto the scene, and just watching his explosive plays, watching his targets even before this week preparing for him,” defensive coordinator Joe Barry said. “He’s very Cooper Kupp-ish just the way, for a young guy a very polished receiver, very detailed, kind of lulls you to sleep almost.”

3. Third Down

The Packers’ offense appears to have a modest advantage on third down based on the data. Los Angeles’ defense is ranked 17th at 39.8 percent, while Green Bay is ranked 15th with a 40.4 percent conversion percentage.

But aside from one terrible game against Philadelphia, which threw off the statistics, the Rams have been excellent for the majority of the season. All four of the Rams’ opponents were limited to 30 percent or less on third down attempts. They have kept their opponents to no more than 37.5 percent in six of their eight games.

Last week, the Packers only converted 5-of-14 (35.7%) against Minnesota. Naturally, starting the game with four straight three-and-out possessions meant that there would be four consecutive third-down misses. Jordan Love has the third-worst third-down passer rating in the league (57.9).

The Rams have the horses to go after Love with Donald (4.5 sacks), Michael Hoecht (3.5 sacks), and lightning-fast youngster Byron Young (three sacks).

“It’s great” not having to go against Rodgers, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris told reporters with a laugh this week. “Nothing against Jordan Love, but we’re talking about a Hall of Famer when you talk about Aaron – and a very sarcastic Hall of Famer at that. It’s nothing like when a guy comes to the sideline, tells you what play you ran and what he saw and then you’re just like, ‘I hate you’ (laughter).

“A great competitor we’re going to go see Jordan Love. Obviously, Jordan Love is a young player on playing, obviously been in the league couple years and learning. Fired up to go see those guys. They’re young, they’re hungry, they’re competitive just like us. They’re hungry for a win the same way.”

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Three Reasons to Worry About Packers-Rams: Aaron Donald is one

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