Top 5 moments of Aaron Donald's illustrious career

Aaron Donald, one of the greatest defenders in NFL history, announced his retirement from football after 10 seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

The star defensive tackle, who was drafted 13th overall in 2014, established himself as the most dominant lineman of his generation, broke several records, and provided remarkable moments in the league. Here are the best moments of Donald's decorated pro football career:

'Aaron Donald's gonna make a play'

Donald had more than 100 quarterback pressures and takedowns throughout his career, but none were more important than his hit on Joe Burrow to seal the Rams' 23-20 victory in Super Bowl LVI over the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincy had the ball at Los Angeles' 49-yard line with 0:43 left while trailing by three. Donald then easily beat his blocker en route to helping L.A. stop Burrow and Co. on fourth-and-1, and the Rams claimed their first Super Bowl title in 22 years.

THE PLAY THAT SEALED THE DEAL.

: #SBLVI on NBC pic.twitter.com/3z7fRQfRTs

- Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) February 14, 2022

Cameras later showed a mic'd-up Sean McVay on the sideline predicting that Donald would step up with a clutch play for his team on football's biggest stage. He finished the matchup with three QB hits, two sacks, and two tackles for loss.

@AaronDonald97 is gonna make a play."

And make a play he did. pic.twitter.com/GMaHpRWh71

- Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) March 15, 2024

AD creates NFC title game clincher

Donald's fourth-down stop in the Super Bowl was as clutch as it gets, but let's not forget that two weeks before that matchup versus the Bengals, the superstar lineman also made one of the most important plays of his career.

With the game again on the line on a third-and-13 late in the fourth quarter, Donald got to Jimmy Garoppolo, forcing the San Francisco 49ers quarterback to make a bad throw that ended up in a Rams defensive back's hands. That booked L.A.'s Super Bowl ticket with a 20-17 victory over its division rival.

AARON DONALD CREATES THE TURNOVER. #RamsHouse #NFLPlayoffs

: #SFvsLAR on FOX
: https://t.co/vywGt5Kgfz pic.twitter.com/pcltmPm9EP

- NFL (@NFL) January 31, 2022

18.5 sacks (and counting)

Donald should go down as the most dominant interior lineman in NFL history, and the Pitt product had his most disruptive campaign as a pass-rusher in 2018 when he broke the single-season sacks record by a defensive tackle. Donald set the historic mark by reaching 18.5 sacks in Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals:

The record breaker! @AaronDonald97. 18.5 sacks. WOW. pic.twitter.com/53x0iYsEJ5

- Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) December 23, 2018

Donald led the NFL with 20.5 sacks that season and was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second time. He called it quits with 111 career sacks and is one of only two defenders who primarily played as a defensive tackle to reach triple-digit sacks in the NFL.

4-sack games

Donald registered 20 regular-season games with two or more sacks, an absurd number for an interior lineman who often faced double-teams and was also stellar against the run. Donald recorded four sacks in a single contest on two separate occasions.

He first hit the four-sack mark in October 2018 against the 49ers. Two years later, Donald piled up four sacks versus Washington in one of his most impressive performances. He also had a forced fumble that day.

.@AaronDonald97 had FOUR sacks yesterday and we are not talking about it enough. pic.twitter.com/iqm95WWVka

- Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) October 12, 2020

DPOY x3

Donald's career highlights and accomplishments are ridiculous. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in all 10 seasons he spent in the NFL and - more impressively - was a first-team All-Pro selection in eight of those years. After being named the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Donald went on to finish at least in the top five in Defensive Player of the Year voting for seven straight seasons from 2015-21. He won the top award three times (2017, 2018, and 2020).

Donald's 2020 season, which tied him with J.J. Watt and Lawrence Taylor for most DPOY awards, went down as one of the most dominant years among defensive tackles:

Honorable mention: 'OH MY GOD'

It's hard to find a stronger and more intimidating defender in NFL history than Donald, and even his spectacular numbers don't do justice to how dominant and impactful he was on the field. Just ask Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, who provided a viral moment last season when he saw an unblocked Donald coming his way at full speed while attempting a third-down pass:

OH MY GOD," #Seahawks QB Geno Smith when Aaron Donald was running at him

pic.twitter.com/naO3antEi8

- MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 15, 2024

Can you blame him?

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