Getty Aaron Donald wanted to face the Seahawks in the NFL playoffs.
The Los Angeles Rams got their wish for the team’s opening matchup in the NFL playoffs against the Seattle Seahawks, at least if you ask Aaron Donald. When the star defensive tackle found out the Rams would take on the Seahawks, Donald smiled and had an interesting reaction.
“That’s what we wanted,” Donald said in his postgame interview. “That’s exactly what we wanted.”
Donald has never had trouble backing up his talk as the Rams star is on the shortlist of the best NFL defenders. Yet, it is an interesting strategy to essentially call out the Seahawks before you are about to face your division rival in a single-elimination postseason matchup.
The Seahawks are already plenty motivated to advance to the Divisional Round, but Donald’s words might add a little extra juice to what is expected to be an intense matchup. The NFC West teams split their two matchups this season with the Seahawks winning the most recent game in Week 16.
Here is a look at Donald discussing the Seahawks after the Rams clinched a playoff spot.
“That’s what we wanted. That’s exactly what we wanted,” – Aaron Donald on facing the Seahawks in the wild-card round of the playoffs next week.
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Carroll on Donald: ‘He Makes Everybody Better Because of His Factor’
As for Donald, the defensive tackle notched 45 tackles and 13.5 sacks this season making it the fourth straight year he has notched double-digit sacks. It is quite the achievement for a tackle who is consistently outpacing the majority of defensive ends in getting to the quarterback throughout his career. Prior to their most recent matchup against the Rams, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll praised Donald’s impact on the team’s defense.
“What Aaron Donald does, is he makes everybody better because of his factor,” Carroll said, per USA Today. “But that doesn’t mean that you automatically are just sacking the quarterback just because you got a good guy next to you. These guys are good. …It’s a really good group. This is not just a one guy setting the whole tone of this defense. The whole group plays and Aaron is as good as there’s ever been in the game. He has that factor, but you couldn’t be this good unless you got a lot of guys playing ball.”
The Seahawks May Face the Rams Backup QB John Wolford
The Seahawks are four-point favorites over a Rams team that may be without their starting quarterback Jared Goff. Rams head coach Sean McVay has been non-committal on Goff’s status meaning John Wolford may make only his second career start and potentially his playoff debut.
“Rams were previously pretty outspoken in assurance that Jared Goff would return from thumb surgery next week,” The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue explained on Twitter. “After tonight’s win, McVay says he is ‘not sure’ about Goff’s availability and said ‘Well, we will talk about that’ when a reporter asked him if Wolford starts next week.”
Both teams are very familiar with each other given this is their third matchup of the season. The Rams starting Wolford would be an interesting wrinkle given both team’s core group of players has mostly remained the same over the past few seasons.
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