Aaron Donald said he “looked damn silly” after missing a scoop-and-score against the Chargers, and Myles Garrett said offenses “have to pick their poison” when he and Donald are on the field together. The Los Angeles Rams are preparing for the Washington Commanders on Sunday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX, which is 8:00 p.m. in Cairo, with Donald laughing at himself in the film room and Garrett talking about the joy of being back.
After outside linebacker Wesley Bailey strip-sacked Justin Herbert, the ball bounced toward the sideline in front of Donald. It should have been an easy recovery for a touchdown. Instead, Donald knocked it out of bounds and laid flat on the turf while teammate Braden Fiske jokingly performed CPR on him.
Donald: “I looked damn silly”
Donald walked through the play Thursday. “I saw the ball and the first thing that came to my head, touchdown. I’m going to get this ball,” he said. “I should have slowed down, but I felt people behind me and I was like I don’t want to get hit in my back, that’s going to hurt. So, I tried to go full speed and scoop it. I thought the ball was going to bounce this way, but it bounced that way. I looked damn silly. I was like, ‘Ah.’ Then I hit the ball out, and I just laid there (like) I can’t believe I just did that.”
Head coach Sean McVay saw the same instinct. “I saw what he was thinking because it’s going right in front of you and he’s thinking, ‘I’m going to scoop and score,’” McVay said after the game. “Then he knocks that … out of bounds. I mean, what the hell?” McVay added that Donald “couldn’t even look at me and make eye contact after that. But at least we can laugh about it right now.”
Defensive coordinator Chris Shula already had a reel of players sinking their hips to scoop and score. “And he was causing every fumble doing it,” Shula said of Donald. “So I told him I get to add him to the reel, but just on the other side of it.”
“That was my drill. I needed that”
On Thursday, Donald was at the front of the line for a practice drill that mimicked scooping a fumble. “Yeah, that was my drill. I needed that. I needed that,” he said, laughing. “Learn bending, getting down, so when the opportunity presents itself again, I take advantage of it.”
He can laugh because the Rams won. “It’s all fun and games because we won, but if it was a different situation and we didn’t win, it’d be a lot worse,” Donald said. “So just got to keep working, keep getting better at the little things, and not let stuff like that happen.” He also made up ground elsewhere against the Chargers, including a tackle for a 4-yard loss on Kimani Vidal in the backfield.
Garrett: “I’m happy to be back”
Garrett, cleared to play Sunday after knee surgery and a stretch on injured reserve, said sitting out was hard. “It was very difficult,” he said Friday. “This is what I love to do. I love being around my teammates, being able to just help the whole group shine. Seeing them go out there and having fun, not only missing out on having fun, but I want to be there in those moments to be able to share their success and celebrate their success.”
He tried to lead from the sideline. “It’s just an opportunity, a different lens, different perspective to try to be a leader, be a great teammate, help out however I can,” Garrett said. “I tried to grow as a player. Even when I’m off the field, I’ll try to study guys who are doing it at a high level this year.”
On being back: “I’ve got a good team around me, got a great family, blessed to be in a great place with great weather, so I’m happy to be back and make the most of my time off and the rest of the time I got,” he said. Looking ahead to the emotions of game day, he said: “The excitement, the joy of being out there again, all the emotions that come with it, you don’t try to push them back — you open yourself to them, you accept it, and then after acknowledging it, you go out there and do what you’ve always done.”
“Pick their poison”
Asked about lining up with Donald, Garrett laughed first. “I think offenses really have to pick their poison,” he said. “Who’s going to be freed up this play? I think either of us are pretty good at winning one-on-ones, so we’ll have some fun.”
Donald was just as ready for the pairing. “I’m pretty sure! I mean, the guy did have 20-something sacks last year,” a smiling Donald said. “But I’m going to go out there and just play, we’re all going to just play. If Myles is 100% ready to go and he plays this week, that’s going to be amazing for us, great, because it’s like I’ve said, it’s always good when we get all the pieces to the puzzle out there.”
Wide receiver Puka Nacua remembered blocking Garrett when the Rams faced Cleveland. “I liked my physicality, but I’m glad I didn’t have to block 95 out there and I’m glad he’s in our colors now,” Nacua said with a laugh. On his own physicality in the run game heading into Washington, Nacua said, “where do I start,” then added: “It sets a tone for me, and then especially for our offense, when you see bodies hitting the floor.”
Containing Jayden Daniels
Donald called Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels a “great football player, dynamic quarterback.” The Rams’ plan is to stay connected up front. “We’ve got a good gameplan, we’ve been talking about it,” Donald said. “Cleaning up some things up front that we can do better, playing off each other, to not allow him to gash us and hurt us. I’m pretty sure he’s gonna get a couple plays here and there, but as long as we keep him contained, keep him in the pocket, not let him get them big rush lanes where he can take advantage of, we’ll be fine.”
The Rams play the Commanders on Sunday, November 8, at 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX, which is 8:00 p.m. in Cairo.
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