Better watch out: Rams wrecker Aaron Donald comin' to town at bad time for Vikings

There was a point in the Los Angeles Rams' 38-31 victory over the Vikings in 2018 when Troy Aikman laughed at the ease with which Aaron Donald can turn professional guards into Keystone Kops.

"Donald gets past Mike Remmers before he even gets out of his stance!" the Hall of Famer turned analyst marveled when Donald exploded from his three-technique position, swam by Remmers and dropped Latavius Murray for no gain as Remmers whirled in the wake before landing on his backside 4 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was asked this week about that relatively nondescript play as a classic example of a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year's rare ability to obliterate. Zimmer's current team — 7-7, clinging to the NFC's last playoff spot and sans Dalvin Cook (reserve/COVID-19) — faces the Rams (10-4) at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday in the first meeting since Donald put a red-hot Kirk Cousins down for good in that prime-time shootout in L.A. three years ago.

Sometimes, the reporter said to Zimmer, Donald's dominance looks like some sort of lopsided matchup you'd see at the high school level.

"Yeah," Zimmer said, "unfortunately it does."

Then what's the antidote for this six-time first-team All-Pro game-wrecker?

"Well," Zimmer said, "there's things you have to try to do. It's not that you can do it all the time. There's things we can try to do, but I won't go into it."

Whatever they are, they better work. Avoiding back-to-back non-playoff seasons for the first time in the Zimmer era could depend on the game plan for No. 99.

Many of the Rams' faces have been upgraded since the Vikings last saw them. Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd, Von Miller, Odell Beckham Jr. and, of course, former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford have joined owner Stan Kroenke's all-in effort to create a Hollywood dream team whose only acceptable finish to this season is winning Super Bowl LVI at home in SoFi Stadium.

But make no mistake. The key to beating Los Angeles on Sunday starts with neutralizing Donald, the Rams' greatest strength, with an interior offensive line that's better than three years ago but still a weakness against the likes of Chicago's Akiem Hicks, Green Bay's Kenny Clark and, of course, "the best" three-technique defensive lineman the 65-year-old Zimmer says he has ever seen.

"[Donald's] got great determination, which I think is part of it," Zimmer said. "But also, he's got excellent quickness and strength, and so when you combine those two, guys can give you a little shake and then power you, or they can just run by you."

Cook has seen it, felt it.

"The way [Donald] gets his hands in and out [of blocks], the way he attacks defenders, the way his mind processes before the ball is even snapped … it's crazy," he said. "We have to find a way to deal with him."

Cook said that Wednesday when the Vikings thought they'd be at full strength, as receiver Adam Thielen was moving toward returning from an ankle injury. A day later, COVID-19 dealt the Vikings a potential season-altering punch.

Even with Cook, the Vikings' past 19 possessions have included nine punts, three interceptions and a turnover on downs. In last week's 17-9 victory over the Bears, Cousins completed just 12 of 24 passes for 87 yards, a career low as a starter.

Pro Football Focus noted that Cousins is 0-for-18 passing when pressured the past two games.

The Bears sacked Cousins a season-high four times. Two came during Hicks' mauling of the undersized Mason Cole at right guard.

Cole suffered an elbow injury while giving up six total pressures in that game. Oli Udoh, who's bigger but leads the league in penalties with 15, probably will step back in at right guard, where he started the first 11 games before moving to left tackle for two games and then to the bench last week.

Three years ago in Los Angeles, the interior line was Remmers at right guard, Pat Elflein at center and Tom Compton at left guard. Remmers and Compton finished the year allowing the third- and 12th-most pressures among guards, according to PFF. Elflein gave up the third-most among centers.

This year, Udoh and left guard Ezra Cleveland have allowed the fifth- and 16th-most pressures, respectively, among guards. In only 10 games, Garrett Bradbury still has allowed the ninth-most pressures among centers.

The total package

As a three-technique, Donald usually lines up between the guard and tackle. He's versatile enough to move anywhere to exploit a weakness. And he leads all NFL interior linemen in sacks (11) and pressures (74). The second-highest pressure total is 53.

In a victory over the Cardinals two weeks ago, Donald posted a career-high 14 pressures against Kyler Murray, according to PFF.

Donald's previous career high? Yep, 2018, when he had 13 against Cousins.

"We've got to be aware, obviously, of where Aaron is," Cousins said. "And also, hopefully, not put him in a position where he's kind of playing with the wind at his back, which is being able to rush and kind of pin his ears back."

Yeah, that's never a good thing when tussling with a future first-ballot Hall of Famer who's still proving at 30 that he shouldn't have lasted until the 13th pick — four slots after the Vikings selected Anthony Barr — of the 2014 NFL draft.

"To me, [Donald] has a little bit of a combination of John Randle and La'Roi Glover," said Vikings co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson, a noted longtime defensive line coach who coached Randle, the Vikings Hall of Famer, and Glover in Dallas.

"He's got Johnny's skill set, and when he came out of Pitt, that's what I said, 'This guy has John Randle's skill set,' and a lot of people were afraid because he only weighed 282 pounds. But he's proven that he's strong and can hold up at that weight in the running game. He's proven to be the best three-technique in the game today."

The Vikings saw that up close in the closing moments of that 2018 shootout. Cousins' final numbers that day were impressive — 36-of-50 for 422 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 117.2 passer rating — but it was Donald who had the final say. He had two fourth-quarter sacks and played a contributing role in the strip-sack turnover that essentially ended the game with 90 seconds left.

Fast-forwarding three years and three months to Sunday, the sputtering Vikings offense wants to both get back in gear and slow Donald. Doing so should add a win to their shaky but ultimately successful two-game streak.

Cook was asked if he thought the Vikings needed to run the table over the season's final three weeks.

"We don't want to be in a scenario where, 'Two teams gotta lose, this team has to win …' " he said. "If we win every game, then the ball is in our court to own our own destiny. … If we keep winning, we don't have to worry. Just worry about the Vikings."

A day later, the Vikings had a lot more to worry about. Suddenly they had no Cook while the Rams still had 280 pounds of Aaron Donald.