Rams' Star Aaron Donald Praises Sam Darnold, Isn't Taking Winless Jets Lightly

Days before wreaking havoc against the winless Jets, Rams superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald is praising New York's quarterback Sam Darnold.

Donald, who leads the NFL with 12.5 sacks through 13 games this season, told reporters that a win against a talented quarterback like Darnold isn't "going to come easy."

"Obviously they're not playing how they want to play but I think he's a good quarterback," Donald said on Thursday. "I think he's really mobile, he can move, he can make things happen with his feet, he can get himself out of trouble, he's strong. There's a couple times where it looked like he got sacked but he was able to break off and make something happen."

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Even as the league's best defense prepares to take on the league's worst offense (at least in terms of yards per game), Donald said he isn't taking New York lightly despite their winless record.

Asked if it's easy or dangerous to face a team playing as poorly as the Jets, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year chose the latter.

"It's the National Football League. I've been on the opposite side of having the talent and not being able to put it all together when we were in St. Louis so I understand what it's like," he explained. "I still believe they have a good team, they've got good football players and we don't want them to beat us. Yo've got to go in there with the mindset that it's going to be a dogfight regardless of the record."

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Donald and his fellow Rams defenders are poised to shut down New York's offense on Sunday. It's a group that's still in search of its first win this year coming off a 37-point shellacking to the Seahawks last weekend.

Instead of cowering in the face of a formidable foe, Darnold seemed eager for the opportunity to face the Rams. He said that while New York has its work cut out for them this week, his team is excited for the challenge, one that starts with Los Angeles' most dangerous asset.

"Aaron Donald is a good player, he definitely pops out on tape. It seems like whenever a play needs to be made, he is always there making it," Darnold said in a Zoom call on Thursday. "So yeah, it will be fun playing against him."

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