Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald hampered his emotional defeat against the Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Rams defensive end Aaron Donald stood on the side of Lambeau Field and could not hold back tears as the clock was reduced to a 32-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers in a playoff game. the divisional round.

Rams coach Sean McVay and defensive line coach Eric Henderson tried to comfort Donald, who played just one week on Saturday for suffering a significant rib injury in a wildcard victory.

“I love Aaron Donald, it means a lot to him,” McVay said after the game, “and it’s unfortunate he wasn’t in full force today.”

Before Saturday’s game, Donald said he felt good, strong and would be ready to play. But the NFL’s double defensive player of the year was clearly limited against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

With a protective padding on his ribs, Donald played only 55% of the snapshots, compared to the 85% average for the season, though McVay said he had no account.

“Aaron is able to dive in,” McVay said. “The plan that came up was to see how it feels. It always has the ability to tell us how it feels.”

Donald formed a double team in 15 of his 21 passing attacks and was unable to record a win in the passing race, beating a block in 2.5 seconds, only for the second time since 2017, according to ESPN metrics driven by next-generation NFL stats. He put pressure on Rodgers, but the Packers quarterback completed a 33-yard pass to tight end Robert Tonyan on the play.

Rams’s Michael Brockers was shown a disappointment, however.

“It’s hard for a guy like that to work as hard as he does to put everything he does,” said Brockers, who later added:[I] I just have to talk to him, let him know, “Man, this isn’t you, this isn’t you, there’s no reason why you should feel that way, [that] you feel like you have failed or something like that. You gave us everything you had and you are the reason we are here. “

Donald finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the NFL with 13.5 sacks and added two more in the 30-20 win with wildcards to the Seattle Seahawks.

The Rams defense finished the NFL’s No. 1 ranked regular season in efficiency, yards allowed per game (281.9) and points allowed per game (18.5).

However, Rodgers and the Packers amassed 484 yards and kept the Rams ’defense on the field, dominating possession time, from 36:12 to 23:48.

Prior to Saturday, the Rams hadn’t let an opponent score this season in their first three units, but the Packers scored in five straight to open the game, including a 14-play, 84-yard touchdown that extended when Donald apparently frustration: sanctioned for unnecessary harshness when he grabbed Elgton Jenkin’s offensive face mask.

Donald did not make himself available to reporters after the match.