Super Bowl 53: 5 Players that failed to show up in Patriots vs. Rams

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams talks with Jared Goff #16 prior to kickoff at Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – FEBRUARY 03: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots is tackled by Aaron Donald #99 of the Los Angeles Rams in the first quarter during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

Donald is the best defender in the NFL. He just won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award for the second consecutive season. He’s the biggest thing on the defensive side of the ball since J.J. Watt‘s prime years.

Some analysts say Donald is the single most dominant force in the game today. There are also people who believe he will be the next defender to win the MVP award. In the biggest game of his career, Donald recorded five combined tackles, one solo tackle, and a quarterback hit. No sacks. No forced fumbles. No tackles for loss.

There are so many ways to come at this. Let me start by saying that Donald did face double coverage for a lot of the game. It was going to be an uphill battle for him to make an impact, but he should have expected that going in. The Patriots just game planned the perfect ways to take Donald right out of the game, though. They ran the ball early and often, and the offensive line held up for most of the game.

Donald has made the Pro Bowl in all five of his NFL seasons. He’s been a First Team All-Pro in each of the last four seasons. He’s won consecutive DPOY awards, and he failed to show up for the Super Bowl. You can try to spin it however you want, but he wasn’t the all-powerful force we’ve gotten used to hearing him described as.

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