Defensive tackles Donald, Buckner ready to square off again in Rams-Colts matchup
Colts defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (99) forces a fumble while tackling Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) on Sept. 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS – Aaron Donald’s impeccable resume would make any defensive player envious.
He owns a Super Bowl ring, three NFL Defensive Player of the Year titles, won the 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award and the 2018 Deacon Jones Award as the league’s sacks leader. He has made seven All-Pro teams and nine Pro Bowls and the unanimous AllAmerican also collected the Lombardi Award, Outland Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award among other honors in college.
Even at age 32, with nothing left to prove, the league’s best defensive tackle shows no signs of slowing down. And this week, like most, blocking Donald will be the focal point for his next foe.
“We’ve got to have a plan for him, know where he’s at at all times and not let him wreck the game,” Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen said, calling Donald one of the best interior lineman in NFL history. “They line him up all over the place. Like I said, we’ve got to have a great, great plan for him.”
Indy (2-1) learned that lesson the hard way when it last faced Donald in 2021.
On that day, he recorded seven tackles, one for loss and three quarterback hits. But his biggest impact didn’t appear in the box score: He helped preserve one goal-line stand by clogging the middle while a teammate recorded a sack and he preserved another by blowing up a shovel pass that was intercepted.
It’s an example of why the Rams (1-2) have made Donald the league’s highestpaid tackle.
Sunday’s game, though, pits Donald against one of the league’s top defensive tackle tandems – two-time Pro Bowler DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, who Colts coaches often insist has played at a Pro Bowl level the past two seasons. Together, they’ve formed a combination that has given the Colts a significant boost.
Indy leads the league in forced fumbles (seven) and strip sacks (five) and is tied for second in fumble recoveries (four) and sacks (12), and Buckner and Stewart have held up well enough against offensive linemen to free linebacker Zaire Franklin to make a leagueleading 45 tackles.
And if the Rams want to get their season back on track, their potentially short-handed offensive line needs to win Sunday’s battle of the big men.
“You always want to stay balanced,” Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. “But you’re also not going to just go beat your head against the wall if they’re saying you’re not going to do it.”