This Key Play In Super Bowl LVI Made Aaron Donald’s Heart ‘Jump’

Aaron Donald put Joe Burrow in a virtually impossible spot late in the fourth quarter Sunday night, and the star quarterback still almost managed to make it work for the Bengals.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year put the finishing touches on the Rams’ Super Bowl LVI win at SoFi Stadium. Cincinnati’s championship dreams vanished on a fourth-and-1 from Los Angeles’ 49-yard line with 43 seconds to go when Donald swarmed Burrow and swung him down to the turf. Burrow managed to flip the football in the direction of Samaje Perine, who was beyond the first-down marker, but the desperation pass fell incomplete.

As Donald explained to NBC Sports’ Peter King after the game, he experienced a moment of heavy suspense as Burrow’s flip pass floated in the air.

“Fourth-and-one,” Donald told King. “You’re thinking they were gonna run it. Then you start seeing certain stares and certain calls, they’re calling out to the point where you think, they’re gonna drop back and pass. When (Joe Burrow) threw it up, my heart kinda jumped because I saw the little running back right there. Would he catch it?”

Time will tell if that was the final play of Donald’s NFL career. Retirement reportedly is on the table for the eight-year veteran, who will turn 31 in late May.

NESN’s big game coverage is presented by Berkshire Bank.