USA TODAY International Edition
Dallas’ run game best bet to slow Donald
FRISCO, Texas – Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott sees him.
“Big 9-9 in the middle,” he said of Aaron Donald (and referencing his jersey number) when asked Tuesday. “Could be one of the most disruptive defensive players in this league. He’s a guy you’ve got to game plan around, guy who has a lot of production. He’s a special player.”
Shutting down the Rams’ all-pro defensive tackle will be key as the Cowboys chase an upset Saturday night in the NFC divisional round.
Donald led the league with 201⁄2 sacks this season, 41⁄2 more than the runner-up, the Texans’ J.J. Watt.
Donald registered three consecutive multi-sack games while anchoring a unit that won plus-11 in the turnover battle. Since coach Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips joined Donald in 2017, the Rams are 18-0 in games when he has a sack.
Consider a Cowboys team that allowed 56 sacks in the regular season (second worst) warned.
“He’s a combination really of everything that’s good in a defensive tackle,” said all-pro right guard Zack Martin, who has played against Donald since college. (Martin went to Notre Dame and Donald attended Pittsburgh.)
“A lot of times when you play a defensive tackle, they’re really strong but may not be as quick. He’s pretty much everything.”
Donald will face a quarterback in Prescott who has won 16 of 19 games (postseason included) when taking zero or one sacks.
The Cowboys are closer to .500 at 17-14 when Prescott is sacked at least twice.
One of those defeats came in 2017 to the Rams, a two-sack game Dallas lost 35-30. Donald had two quarterback hits in 59 snaps but no sacks as Prescott spun out of a neck hold on 3rdand-7 to complete an 18-yard pass to Dez Bryant.
“It’s picking and choosing our spots ... where we can apply pressure and activate things that put pressure,” McVay said of the pass rush in a conference call with Dallas reporters. “Dak’s a tough guy to bring down.”
But Donald, fellow tackle Ndamukong Suh, outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. and defensive end Michael Brockers are among those who will try. Pro Football Focus ranked the unit third best among defensive front sevens this season (after the Eagles and Jaguars). A Cowboys’ offensive line that struggled with consistency dropped from fourth to 14th in a year. The Cowboys’ best bet? Capitalize on a leaky run D. The Rams’ 122.3 rushing yards per game this season ranked 23rd. Their 5.1 yards per carry allowed ranked dead last.
“Teams that have been successful have done the little things right, executed, hit some big runs against them,” Martin said. “At the same time, you can’t look at that stat and think it’s going to be easy sledding running the ball.”
Elliott, the league’s rushing champion with 1,434 yards, averaged 4.7 yards per carry. He rushed for 95.6 per game, averaging 125 total yards from scrimmage while also lead blocking on key plays such as red-zone quarterback draws for Prescott. Those run-pass options will factor into the Cowboys’ game plan. But Dallas can’t rely on the Rams to run to victory, Elliott said.
“The regular season is over,” Elliott said. “This is playoff football. I think all that stuff gets thrown out the window once we get out there.
“Everyone is going to be playing hard. Everyone is going to be playing to win.”