Almost the second the Eagles' loss to Washington was official last Sunday, the talk about what was coming next started.
The Los Angeles Rams and stud defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
"Yeah, Aaron Donald, he's a monster. Everyone knows it. Everyone around the league knows the type of player he is and how he can really disrupt an offensive gameplan," Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said on Wednesday. "And so for us, we're aware of that. Somebody we gotta always know where he is. But at the same time, we gotta execute. We gotta come out next and execute, not play afraid or not play timid, but he's a guy we definitely take accountability for where he's at at all times and, like you said, he's a game-wrecker and if you let it happen. So we've got to be smart with how we handle that."
Saying Donald is a game-wrecker might be putting it mildly. The defensive tackle has 73 sacks in 95 career games, with 34 of them coming in his last 33 games. He has 177 quarterback hits muring that span, and in his 202 season debut against the Dallas Cowboys, he got to quarterback Dak Prescott four times — including this play that had the entire league talking:
Facing Donald any year would be a challenge, but as the Eagles prepare for their Week 2 opponent, the struggles along the offensive line make the idea of going against Donald seem like an impossible task.
The Eagles' offensive line is coming off of a game in which they allowed 24 pressures, 14 hurries and eight sacks. Wentz was hit 11 times.
The poor showing from the line, combined with Donald coming to town, increases the pressure on the Eagles' offensive coaching staff to figure out a way to keep Wentz safe in the pocket.
"Obviously Aaron Donald is a great player, tremendous player. There are not many offensive lines out there that really kind of slow this guy down. I mean, he just goes from snap to whistle. He's a hundred miles an hour and that's tough," Pederson said. "For us, it's about understanding where he lines up and he does move -- it's a different scheme. It's not the same Wade Phillips scheme. It's a different scheme so they move him around the D-Line just a little bit more, so it's imperative that we understand where he's at. Communication is of the utmost, obviously, and it starts with [C Jason] Kelce and echos along the offensive line."
The Rams do move Donald all over, but the reality is that with All-Pro guard Brandon Brooks sidelined for (likely) the season, the Rams are almost certainly going to be lining up Donald over whoever starts at right guard for the Eagles on Sunday. Pederson hinted that would be Nate Herbig, but left the door open for either Matt Pryor or newly acquired Jamon Brown to make the start.
No matter who it is, however, expecting any of those three to win one-on-one matchups with Donald is a recipe for disaster, which means the Eagles are going to need to scheme their way around the disruptive pass rusher.
The good news is that the Eagles have experience scheming their way around an elite pass rusher. In 2018 the Eagles went into Chicago to face, at that point, the player many viewed as the best pass rusher in the entire NFL, Khalil Mack. While the line was better two seasons ago than it is now, the Eagles' offensive scheme kept quarterback Nick Foles relatively clean, giving up just four hits (and one sack) in 43 plays.
The Eagles would gladly sign up for that kind of outcome on Sunday against Donald.
"Aaron, he's coming to play, his mind is right, he's the type of guy – he's a real man – he's the type of guy, he goes about his business, every single day, day-in and day-out, when he comes to work," cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman said. "He's going to be ready."
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
