Aaron Donald gets NFL Spin Zone Player of the Week

San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde, San Diego Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen, Houston Texans superstar J.J. Watt, and Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman (dear Dave Gettleman, good luck keeping him) all had sensational Week 1 performances, but St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald was in a class of his own.

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Although he had it easy against a Seattle Seahawks interior offensive line led by center Drew Nowak (maybe only James Hurst looked more out of his element as a starting offensive lineman in Week 1), it was Donald who spearheaded a huge 34-31 upset. People like me didn’t give the Rams a chance with Todd Gurley and Tre Mason out injured, but this team prevailed and took advantage of Kam Chancellor‘s injury to put up 34 on the Seahawks.

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The big story is the fact that the Rams elite defensive line (the best in the NFL) was able to hit Russell Wilson nine times and get to him for a sack six times, and you can only imagine the carnage that would have taken place if RW3 weren’t such a good QB. There’s a chance the Seahawks have the league’s worst offensive line, but I think any bad line will look historically awful when going up against Robert Quinn, Michael Brockers, Chris Long, William Hayes, Eugene Sims (who suffered an injury on his sack), and Donald.

It’s not often a defensive tackle leads a team with nine tackles, but that’s exactly how many the former Pittsburgh star had on Sunday afternoon. Five of those tackles were solo stops, but the most impressive stats on Donald’s sheet were the two sacks, three QB hits, and three total tackles for loss.

The tackle for loss that came in run defense was the game-winning play on fourth down, and Donald probably isn’t sure why Marshawn Lynch took that run out of the shotgun. Whatever the case, the Seahawks decided to challenge the Rams mano-a-mano with their offensive line vs. the Rams defensive line, and they were mortified.

Donald’s disruptiveness in the running game was obvious last season, and he proved those who doubted his run defense completely wrong. His lack of size is overcome by his motor, his hand usage, and the fact that he wraps running backs up like a seasoned inside linebacker.

Geno Atkins, Ndamukong Suh, and Gerald McCoy had better watch out, because it looks like Aaron Donald could end up with the title of “NFL’s Best Defensive Tackle” by the end of the season. The competition is stiff, but Donald was just so dominant on Sunday. Again, the Seahawks offensive line had something to do with it, but it’s still impressive to see a DT put up two sacks and nine tackles.

I still can’t believe how often Donald blew up plays in the backfield, and he consistently found ways to harass Wilson and push him in the direction of the likes of Quinn. He played a perfect game at the defensive tackle position, and it’s only fitting for him to be honored accordingly. Rams fans know they have a few monsters on their defense, but nobody has shown up more than this guy.

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