Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams will be facing former quarterback Jared Goff as an opponent this weekend, as the Rams will battle the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs.
Goff spent the first five years of his career in Los Angeles before being traded to the Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford in March 2021, so Donald is certainly very familiar with the signal-caller.
Heading into the NFC postseason clash, Donald said he reached out to Goff earlier in the week, telling him that he is proud of him, via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic. Donald added that it’s clear Goff has grown a lot since departing LA and said multiple times that he is happy to see Goff’s progression.
Goff, who played his collegiate football at the University of California, was originally selected by the Rams with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He made back-to-back trips to the Pro Bowl in 2017 and 2018, and the following year, he led Los Angeles to a Super Bowl appearance, where the team ultimately fell to the New England Patriots.
However, in 2019 and 2020, Goff’s numbers declined significantly, resulting in the Rams trading him to the Lions for Stafford. Los Angeles proceeded to win the Super Bowl in Stafford’s first season in LA.
While Goff hasn’t experienced that type of success in Detroit, he has certainly showed considerable progression, making the Pro Bowl in 2022. Then, this year, Goff led the Lions to an NFC North division title, marking Detroit’s first division crown in three decades.
Now, Goff will get a chance to exact some revenge against his former Rams squad. He threw for 4,575 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 67.3 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 97.9 this season.
Meanwhile, Donald logged 53 tackles and eight sacks this year, earning his 10th straight Pro Bowl selection.
Jared Goff and the Lions went 11-6. Meanwhile, Aaron Donald and the Rams went 10-7, nabbing a Wild Card berth. The two sides will clash on Sunday night.
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