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Rams Film Review: Aaron Donald Makes Immediate Impact in Return

Aaron Donald made his return to the Rams against the Giants. A closer look at the film shows he still has plenty left at 35 years old.
Blaine Grisak|
Sep 21, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) takes the field for a game against the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) takes the field for a game against the New York Giants at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Los Angeles Rams

As the Los Angeles Rams took the field on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants, defensive tackle Aaron Donald also made his season debut. Donald retired following the 2023 season, but came out of retirement this offseason. While he didn’t make the trip to Australia in Week 1, Donald finally put the pads on against the New York Giants.

Coming into the game, it was uncertain what the Rams would get out of Donald. He hadn’t played in two years and, surely, at 35 years old, he had lost a step. It was also unclear how much Donald would play. After not taking a snap in two years, it seemed unlikely that he would play 100 percent of the defensive snaps.

When all was said and done, Donald played 32 snaps, which ended up being around 57 percent of the Rams’ snaps on defense. That’s about exactly where the Rams would have wanted him to be in his first game back.

Donald played a pretty even split of run snaps and pass rush snaps.In 14 run-defense snaps, Donald had three tackles, including one for a loss. While he only had one pressure in 18 pass-rush snaps, he had a 27.8 percent pass-rush win rate. That is the highest among interior defensive linemen this season.

Simply looking at the stat sheet, it seemed like Donald didn’t have much of an impact. However, looking at the film and even some of the advanced stats, it was very clear that Donald was having a positive influence on the game.

During his media availability on Thursday, Donald was asked whether he expected the Giants to double-team him. Donald’s response may have had a hint of sarcasm, but he said, “You think they're going to double/triple team me [after] not playing for two years? They ain't worried about me, man."

Donald was double-teamed on 39 percent of his pass rush plays against the Giants. After two years away, the Giants were still very clearly concerned about what Donald could do and wanted to be prepared for it.

Among defensive linemen who played at least 50 percent of their team’s defensive snaps, Pro Football Focus graded Donald as the 18th-best defensive lineman in Week 2 with an overall grade of 70.3. Even if that grade does seem low, it’s a good start for Donald. Monday night was a good start. It may be cliché to say that he’s only going to get better, but at the very least, he’s going to get more comfortable.

Additionally, that’s all the Rams really need from Donald, especially when Garrett returns. It’s been said all summer that the Rams didn’t necessarily need prime Donald on this defense. A 70 percent or 80 percent version of Donald would be enough. That’s about what the Rams got on Monday night. However, much like his pass rush win rate, there were parts of his game that stood out and made it clear that he can still have an impact.

Throughout his career, Donald won with his speed, and it was his ‘superpower’ in his game. On Monday night, Donald had an average get-off of 0.75 seconds. That is the third-fastest among any defensive lineman this season and is faster than Jared Verse, Maxx Crosby, and Will Anderson Jr.

There were still moments in the game where you saw flashes of “vintage” Donald. The most evident play was in the second quarter with the Giants in the red zone. Donald won with his speed to beat the blocker off the snap to get inside and then met the ball carrier in the backfield.

Again, it may not have been a dominant performance from Donald, but it was a good opportunity to knock off some of the rust and play an actual game. There were never any questions about whether Donald was in shape, but whether he could get back into football shape. Donald answered those questions on Monday night against the Giants. Donald is back, and the rest of the league should be on notice.

Other Notes

Terrance Ferguson Has Breakout Performance

Without Puka Nacua in the lineup, the Rams needed a second pass-catcher to step up. That player ended up being second-year tight end Terrance Ferguson. Ferguson finished with six catches for 54 yards and showed what he can do when he’s a bigger part of the offensive game plan.

One of Ferguson’s strengths is his ability to run after the catch and create explosive plays. Last year, the Rams targeted Ferguson down the field as he led tight ends in deep targets. However, against the Giants, Ferguson averaged just 6.4 air yards per target, showing off some of his versatility.

Ferguson stepped right into the Nacua role in the passing game. The Rams brought him in motion across the line and had him running routes through the offensive line, similar to how they’ve done with Nacua in the past.

On the play above, the Rams bring Ferguson in motion to almost a fullback position and then have him run a corner route out of it through the A-gap. Later in the game, he showed off some of his blocking in the run game, blocking a linebacker through the B-gap, very similar to Nacua.

“Ferg's a stud,” said head coach Sean McVay after the game. “He’s only going to keep getting better. I thought he had a great catch and run on the second down. That was a big play for us. Great catch on the play action. That was a great trigger by the safety being able to drive downhill. He’s only going to get better and better.”

There were some missed opportunities. Ferguson was credited with one drop on a play where he didn’t expect the ball to come as quickly as it did. Later in the game, Ferguson had one go through his hands, but the ball did tip off a linebacker’s helmet near the line of scrimmage, changing the trajectory. However, had Ferguson caught it, he might have run all the way to Beverly Hills.

Despite the misses, it’s hard not to like what the Rams got out of Ferguson in a big moment. He stepped up in a big way, and hopefully, when Nacua returns, the Rams can continue to get him involved in the passing game.

Matthew Stafford-Davante Adams Connection Shines

When the Rams signed Davante Adams before the 2025 season, there was a lot of excitement about what he could do with Stafford. However, with Stafford’s back injury, those two didn’t get the reps that they would have gotten in a normal offseason.

Stafford and Adams still had a great year. Adams led the NFL in touchdowns, and the two were almost unstoppable in the red zone. With that said, between the 20s, it took almost half the year for them to get on the same page. Even then, they were still off at times.

Adams talked a lot during training camp about how he and Stafford were so much further ahead than they were at that time last year. Adams’ eight-catch, 195-yard performance made that evident. There was no play that exemplified that more than Stafford’s throw to Adams along the sideline in the third quarter. That’s a throw that takes a lot of work, as the quarterback has to know exactly where the receiver wants it.

It also shows how Adams is playing at such a high level at 33 years old. Adams became the fourth-oldest player in NFL history to have 195 yards and two or more receiving touchdowns in a single game.

Chris Shula Calls a More Creative Game

Prior to the Monday night's game against the Giants, defensive coordinator Chris Shula took a lot of criticism for how he called the game against the San Francisco 49ers. There were some reasons for that, but the Rams played off the line of scrimmage and more zone coverage than some would have liked.

That shifted drastically in Week 2. After blitzing at around a 19 percent rate in Week 1, that was up to 38 percent in Week 2. A lot of that was because the Rams stopped the run and forced the Giants to be one-dimensional, but it was still a good improvement. Shula was much more creative with his pass rush plans.

Additionally, it was nice to see Trent McDuffie have a good game. While he had an interception, his most impressive play may have been the pass breakup deep down the field while covering Malik Nabers. McDuffie never panicked and was able to force an incompletion. That wouldn't have been the case at times last year.

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Blaine Grisak
BLAINE GRISAK

Blaine Grisak is the Lead Publisher for Rams on SI covering the Los Angeles Rams. Prior to joining On Sports Illustrated, he covered the Rams for TurfShow Times, attending events such as the NFL Draft, NFL Combine, and Senior Bowl. A graduate of Northeastern University, Blaine grew up in Montana.

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