'Proud of Him!' Aaron Donald Had a Message For Jared Goff Ahead of Playoff Matchup
The Los Angeles Rams are set to head to the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs on Sunday night, in what could be the most intriguing matchup of the weekend.
With Matthew Stafford returning to where his career began and Jared Goff taking on the team that traded him away, and all of the other storylines in between, it is sure to be an emotional evening for both sides.
But before the festivities begin on Sunday, Rams star Aaron Donald was sure to reach out to his former teammate Goff, to let him know exactly how he feels about what he has done in Detroit.
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“We had a good relationship,” Donald said. “I reached out to him and told him I’m proud of him... what they’ve been accomplishing and what he’d been doing. I said, ‘I’ll see you Sunday night.’ He said, ‘Appreciate you, brother. I'll see you Sunday night.’ It's going to be fun.”
Goff, of course, is not nearly the same player he was back when he was with L.A., becoming a far more polished passer, but also growing in his knowledge of the game.
Those improvements have helped Goff lead the Lions to their first division title since 1993, allowing them to host their first home playoff game in 30 years.
"He was here, helped us do some great things, and then to go to Detroit, help build that back to where they’re at the day and all the success they've been having this season," Donald said. "Just proud of him."
In fact, Goff has been so good this season, that he set a new career mark in completion percentage at 67.3 percent, throwing for 4,575 yards and 30 touchdowns - the second most of his career (2018).
And Donald sees that improvement very clearly.
"Obviously, he grew as a player," Donald said. "The X’s and O’s, he probably knows even much more than what he did when he was here. He's a great football player."
Now the two will face off for the second time since Goff was sent to Detroit in exchange for Stafford in 2021 - a move that was the key in L.A. winning Super Bowl LVI.
In that game, Stafford threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns against his old team, while Goff thew for 268 yards, with a score and two interceptions.
Round 2, however, will hold much bigger stakes, and Goff has improved drastically since that time. Fortunately for the Rams, Donald is well aware of what the Rams need to do to try and slow down his old teammate.
"We know he’s not the most mobile guy, but when he’s got a clean pocket and he's able to make all the right throws, he can do that," Donald said. So we just got to do a great job of finding ways to put pressure on him, make him uncomfortable, and hopefully we get to him.”
