The championship-or-bust Los Angeles Rams secured a Super Bowl 56 berth on Jan. 30 with help from elite defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who managed to force San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo into committing a game-clinching interception late in the fourth quarter.
Donald's near-sack of Garoppolo isn't found on the NFC championship game stat sheet, but the three-time Defensive Player of the Year delivered valuable and relentless pressure in the trenches. And the performance only reaffirmed his status as the league's most dominant pass-rusher, who's still on a mission to hoist his first Lombardi Trophy.
"He's the best defensive player of our generation, even though he doesn't play the flashy outside edge-rusher," Super Bowl 56 radio voice Kevin Harlan told The DA Show on Monday morning. "The big play that always stands out, we'll never know 90-percent of his success because of what happens in a congested area, where he operates... The door that unlocks a successful defensive stand is what happens in the middle of that line...
"He's the most disruptive defensive player of our generation. The guy who gets 14-20 sacks, he may be the guy who's getting headlines. But Donald's the guy who's the most feared defensive player over the last eight years in the NFL. They know the kind of dedication he's put in. They also know the headlines he should be receiving. Every DPOY award he's gotten has been just. And probably, he's missed out on a couple others he should've won."
Last week, Donald told reporters that he appreciates this second Super Bowl trip more than the first, and newly acquired veteran linebacker Von Miller said that, "Selfishly, I want to be the guy" who helps Donald win a championship. In 17 games this season, the 30-year-old Donald recorded a team-high 12.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles.
Super Bowl 56 between the Rams and Cincinnati Bengals will take place on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. According to projections from FiveThirtyEight, Los Angeles currently has a 68-percent chance to win its first title since 1999.
The entire football conversation between Harlan and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.