Aaron Donald had played in 129 career NFL games before the Los Angeles Rams took on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 25.
“A.D” got sack No. 100 in his 130th game ever.
The former 2014 first rounder had this perfect storm form for him: Drawing the one-on-one block and only facing him and the quarterback. The Cardinals never gave Kyler Murray an extra blocker for the 6-foot-1, 280-pound locomotive…and Donald only needed to beat the massive 6-foot-2, 335-pound Will Hernandez to snatch up the electric and mobile Murray.
It wasn’t even a completed sack by those who love defensive plays and witnessing quarterbacks get planted to the ground. But Donald extended his large palms long enough to get Murray to lose his balance…and it was enough for Donald to hit the century mark.
Career sack No. 100 for Aaron Donald! 👏
📺: #LARvsAZ on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ t.co/Vr11sqlsAh
Plus, that accolade in the first quarter was enough to give Donald this milestone: The fastest NFL defensive tackle in league history to hit the 100-sack plateau.
.@AaronDonald97 is the fastest DT in NFL history to reach 100 career sacks.
But was there boasting from the often soft-spoken A.D? Or did he choose humility?
Donald Reacts to New Milestone
Fox Sports sideline reporter Laura Okmin was the first to chat with Donald once the Rams solidified their 20-12 road win over the rival Cardinals. And Okmin’s second question became the “tricky” one for Donald: His thoughts on 100 career sacks and what does it mean for him, personally.
Donald’s response? He began with three words.
“It’s a blessing,” Donald told Okmin.
But then came a lengthier response.
“Anytime you put the body of work in and things come into fruition and you accomplish great things, you’re going to be proud of it,” Donald said.
Still, Donald choose to stay on the humble road.
“But, my job is to go out there and play ball and try to find a way to help my team do slide protection, double teams and triple teams…and continue to be consistent and try to help my team to win. And I think we did a good job,” Donald said. “Today wasn’t perfect, we did some good things and have some things that need to be cleaned up, but for the most part we won.”
The Rams are now 11-1 vs. the Cardinals and McVay has never lost in Arizona.
@LauraOkmin is with @AaronDonald97 following the @RamsNFL Week 3 win against the Cardinals.
Congratulations Still Roll in
As selfless Donald has been since his arrival to the league nine seasons ago, he was still given the spotlight and praise.
Notably, the Twitter account for the NFL re-did his uniform number — as a way to honor his accomplishment.
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ sacks and counting 👏 @AaronDonald97
But it wasn’t just the league’s account that did something catchy and creative to honor A.D. So did the Rams’ own Twitter account, as they used 24 “100” emoji’s to describe this moment…but with a unique twist:
@AaronDonald97 @NFLonFOX 💯💯💯 💯💯💯
💯 💯 💯 💯
💯💯💯 💯💯💯
💯 💯
💯💯💯 💯💯💯
Even Donald’s other heralded All-Pro teammate Jalen Ramsey, who has lined up with Donald since after the November 2019 trade deadline, chimed in to honor the man who creates pressure for the Rams’ defense:
With the mark, Donald now needs 38 more sacks to top Hall of Famer John Randle, whose 137.5 career sacks is the most-ever by an interior defensive lineman. But again, Donald wasn’t one who wanted to boast in his long-awaited 100th career sack.
Aaron Donald on becoming the fastest DT to 100 sacks in tonight’s win: “I was just playing, honestly, just playing.”
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Rams’ Aaron Donald Shares Honesty About New Milestone