Super Bowl LVI won't have Tom Brady or Bill Belichick, but it will have a positional G.O.A.T. and an upstart team that got this far in large part because it executed a defensive adjustment for the ages.
Rams, Bengals use postseason defense to step into ring at Super Bowl LVI
Future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald will be a man in the spotlight in his home stadium next Sunday.
February 6, 2022 at 4:51AM
Aaron Donald, the sport's G.O.A.T. at defensive tackle, will be hunting his first ring next Sunday when the Los Angeles Rams face the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
Meanwhile, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will be trying to snuff out Matthew Stafford's rags-to-riches feel-good story the same way he and his underrated defense stonewalled Patrick Mahomes and the explosive Chiefs in the second half and overtime of the AFC Championship Game at Kansas City.
When it comes to defense in this game, the regular-season numbers don't tell the story. The Rams and Bengals were ranked 17th and 18th, respectively, in yards allowed, and 16th and 17th, respectively, in points allowed.
In the postseason, however, both teams are surrendering fewer than 20 points a game while feasting on takeaways. The Bengals have postseason highs in takeaways (seven) and interceptions (six). The Rams have five takeaways, including the interception that clinched the victory over the 49ers in the closing minutes of the NFC Championship Game.
On a star-studded defense that includes Von Miller, Leonard Floyd and Jalen Ramsey, it was Donald who had the pressure — one of his five in the game — that caused Jimmy Garoppolo to flip the errant backhanded pass that was picked.
It was the first postseason forced turnover of Donald's brilliant career. He's 6-3 in the playoffs, including a 13-3 loss to Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII three years ago.
"You have a lot of D-tackles that are physically strong and difficult that way, and there are some that are quick," said Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who was an assistant coach with the Rams in 2017-18. "He's both and he's just got such an incredible mindset and football IQ as well. And so you combine all that into one of the greatest players of all-time.
"There's no question about that, you know, just watching him train, watching him practice, played against him. … Watched him play when I was a quarterback coach [in Cincinnati] on the sideline and it's one of the few times you just watch a defensive tackle. Your eyes are on him and nobody else."
In NFL history, 25 players have been named first-team All-Pro seven or more times. Twenty-four of them are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The 25th is Donald, a 30-year-old who has amassed his seven All-Pro first-team nods in just eight seasons.
His three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards are tied with Lawrence Taylor and J.J. Watt for the most ever. Among defensive tackles, Donald needs one more first-team All-Pro selection to surpass Randy White and Bob Lilly for the most ever. That also would tie ends Bruce Smith and Reggie White for the most ever by a defensive lineman.
As for the Bengals, no coach in football has had a better run since halftime of Week 17 than Anarumo, a 55-year-old third-year defensive coordinator. His defense held the top-seeded Titans to 16 points and slammed the door on Mahomes and the Chiefs with halftime adjustments not once, but twice.
The Bengals trailed the Chiefs by 11 points in Week 17 and again in the AFC Championship Game. They gave up 28 points in the first half in Week 17 and 21 in the AFC title game.
But …
Mahomes and perhaps the league's most explosive offense mustered just six points total after halftime while losing both games. In the AFC title game, the Chiefs' first five second-half possessions gained 34 yards and two first downs. This came after Kansas City's four first-half possessions gained 311 yards, 18 first downs and three touchdowns.
Per NextGen Stats, Anarumo dropped eight defenders into coverage on 24% of the first-half pass plays before nearly doubling that total to 45% in the second half. Mahomes had time to throw, but was either too confused or too impatient to check down.
When facing just a three-man rush in the second half, Mahomes was 7-of-13 for 59 yards, one interception and two sacks. He was sacked four times total in the half, twice by Sam Hubbard.
"Sam's one of the guys who rose up," Anarumo said. "Those D-linemen had an unbelievable job of trying to contain [Mahomes]. He was running them ragged and they never relented. None of them.
"You could see the inner fortitude of those guys up front, especially led by Sam. They weren't going to give up no matter what. You can win a lot of games with guys like them."
And G.O.A.T.s like Donald, too.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
