As glamourous as the duel between Chase and Ramsey will be, the clash of Aaron Donald against the offensive line of Cincinnati could be where the game is won and lost. Experts feel that the Bengals offensive line might be the worst offensive line to ever make it to the Super Bowl. Experts also feel that Aaron Donald could go down as the greatest defensive player of all time, superseding the great Giants Line-backer Lawrence Taylor, when it’s all said and done.

Donald has played in one Super Bowl – the 2018 contest against the Patriots and he had a very quiet game for his standards that day, logging one lone tackle and four assisted. Belichick and the Patriots simply out schemed the Rams that day, so can the Bengals somehow do the same? Or will they concede 9+ sacks like they did against the Titans in the Divisional round? It’s looking ominous but stranger things have happened.

Bengals Offensive Line 2021 Season Stats:

• Sacks Allowed: 55 (Last)
• Tackles for Loss Allowed: 25 (28th)
• Pressures Allowed: 171 (18th)
• PFF Ranking: 20th

The offensive line for the Cincinnati Bengals is going to be in a very sticky situation as soon as the Rams get on the ball on Sunday night. They have been having issues all season, but their problems have been magnified in the playoffs. PFF have them ranked as the 20th O-Line, but their 55 sacks allowed say otherwise. Joe Burrow was sacked 51 times in the regular season and Brandon Allen was sacked four times in week 18 when Burrow was being rested. Burrow has been sacked 12 times in playoffs but has somehow managed to still play at an ice-cold level. But what are the chances of the big men upfront keeping Burrow clean for entirety of the 60 mins? Not good. The O-Line only has to stop Aaron Donald, Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, etc….

According to PFF, Jonah Williams has the highest grade of all their O-Linemen, at 77.9. Unfortunately for Cinci, their best is not very good. Williams has allowed more pressures than any other lineman in the league in 2021, to go along with eight sacks and four penalties. If he is their best man, it could be a tough outing.

But Cincinnati have proved people wrong all year and their confidence is only going to keep on growing. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan is backing his guys. “I’ve got a ton of confidence in our guys up front,” Callahan said. “They’re battle-tested. They’ve played in tough games. They’ve managed. They’ve made mistakes. They’ve given up sacks. They just keep coming back and fighting”. Their coach has confidence in them, their QB is playing lights out despite them, and their underdog mentality is going to drive them on. It doesn’t look good for Cincinnati, but it hasn’t all year and look where they are now.

Aaron Donald 2021 Season Stats:

• Sacks: 12.5 (7th)
• Forced Fumbles: 4 (8th)
• Solo Tackles: 38 (+150)
• Assisted Tackles: 46 (+150)
• NFL Top 100 Players: 2nd

Number 99 has had a quieter season statistically than he has had in the past, but that does not mean his presence has not been felt the same. Donald was voted to the All-Pro team again, for the seventh time in a row. He has made the All-Pro, the team of the best players from the entire league not just the conference, every year except his rookie year (2014). And he only went and won defensive rookie of the year that year. Donald is a certified game wrecker that has won defensive player of the year, three times. Only two other men in the history of the sport have won the award three times. JJ Watt and Lawrence Taylor. He has made the top 100 players in the NFL every season, except his rookie season, and hasn’t finished outside the top 15 since 2015. He hasn’t finished outside the top three since 2018.

As mentioned above, Donald will look to feast on a struggling offensive O-Line. Donald is un-guardable one on one, which is why teams are double teaming him all year, and every year for that matter. As mentioned, the Bengals had the 20th ranked O-Line, as of the 12th of January. Donald has destroyed some of the teams around that mark in the 2021 regular season – the Giants, Jaguars, Texans, Seahawks, Cardinals. The Cardinals, the best of that bad bunch, allowed three sacks from Donald, his max in one game in 2021.

But is Aaron Donald a regular season MVP, but a post season KVP (kind-of valuable player)….? In the 2021 post season, he has logged 1.5 sacks in their three games. To recap, they have played the Cardinals, Bucs and 49ers. According to PFF, they are rated 15th, 2nd and 3rd respectively, in terms of O-Line play. Both the Bucs and the 49ers are the cream of the crop, so Donald can be excused for now. For his playoff career, Donald has four sacks in nine games played. He also has 27 total tackles, but no forced fumbles. As mentioned above, he had a quiet game in his one Super Bowl, not getting to Tom Brady once. The difference in those occasions, Donald didn’t have the teammates to take some of the pressure off of him. This Super Bowl will be different, as Von Miller and Leonard Floyd will take some major attention themselves. While Donald has been a little bit quieter, in terms of sacks, in his previous playoff games, that likely won’t be the case here. He will likely get to Joe Burrow at least once, and even if he doesn’t, the QB pressure he will bring will allow his boys to feast. Donald is currently 13/1 for MVP, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility he wins it.

Offensive Line Prop Bets:

• N/A.

Aaron Donald Prop Bets:

• Tackles & Assists (+4.5): 5/6.
• Super Bowl MVP: 13/1.

J.