Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Aaron Donald twisted Nick Foles’ ankle, but did he do so on purpose?
Aaron Donald wanted to sack Nick Foles, but did he intentionally try to twist Foles’ ankle?
Donald was in hot pursuit of Foles on this pass rush. He hit the turf and tried to bear crawl his way towards the Chicago Bears starting quarterback. Though Foles was able to get the football off before Donald was able to get to him, the Los Angeles Rams defensive end did appear to twist Foles’ ankle in the process. Was this intentional by Donald? We’ll let you be the judge of that.
Aaron Donald didn’t see the ball come out, so maybe this wasn’t intentional?
Donald is not known as a dirty player in the league. In fact, he’s seen as arguably the best player in the league at any position. Ultimately, it is inconclusive if he intentionally tried to twist Foles’ ankle. He may have hit the alligator roll while attempting to sack Foles while on the ground, but how else was he going to bring the quarterback to the turf? It wasn’t a great look either way.
The Rams will look at the film of this tomorrow and Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will definitely ask about this play. Had Donald not been on all fours, this twisted ankle incident wouldn’t have happened. While the alligator roll is frowned upon these days, it appears Donald didn’t know Foles had thrown the football by the time he was tackled. Again it’s not a great look.
While you may appreciate the competitiveness, the execution by Donald was not up to par here.