Offensive highlights litter every catalog of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history, and even fewer of those great plays involve lumbering defensive linemen. A two-yard loss isn’t as exciting as a 25-yard scoring throw or a running back trampling an entire defense. But when the story of Super Bowl LVI is retold, Matt Stafford’s back-shoulder throw to Cooper Kupp shouldn’t overshadow Aaron Donald shredding the Bengals on consecutive plays in the final two minutes.
With a title in jeopardy of slipping away from Los Angeles as the Bengals faced a key fourth-down conversion, there was an anticipation in the air that a scintillating Donald pressure was coming. On third and 1, Donald stopped tailback Samaje Perine in his tracks, wielding a Herculean arm tackle to keep the 250-pounder from bowling forward for an extra yard.
Donald demonstrated why his pass rush win rate was 20 percent higher than the NFL’s second-best defensive tackle on the ensuing play.
