Week 2’s Monday Night Football matchup in the NFL features a clash between two major title contenders. While the New York Giants still don’t know whether they’ll face the Los Angeles Rams with Aaron Donald on the field, John Harbaugh believes No. 99 will play.
“We are expecting him to play. We are expecting him to be Aaron Donald. He’s a game-wrecker,” the head coach said per New York Post Sports‘ Ryan Dunleavy. Even amid uncertainty over whether Sean McVay will put him on the field at SoFi Stadium, Harbaugh is preparing for any scenario.
The Giants’ physicality prevailed against the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener, and it will be needed to counter the impact of players of Donald’s caliber. Both coaching staffs are preparing as exhaustively as possible to secure a win next Monday.
Donald looks to get back up to speed
Ahead of the start of the season, the Los Angeles Rams were clearly viewed as one of the major contenders to reach the next Super Bowl, even more so after it was announced that Aaron Donald would come out of retirement to join McVay’s team. However, their season opener did not go as expected.
Los Angeles Rams player Aaron Donald looks on prior to a game.
The defensive end was not available to the coaching staff in Melbourne for the loss to the San Francisco 49ers, with the goal of getting to 100% not only physically but also getting some game reps under his belt before returning to competition. Week 2 against the Big Blue appears to be a good opportunity for Donald to make his return, especially in front of the home crowd.
Harbaugh’s big decision ahead of the Rams clash
There was a lot of talk about the short amount of time the Rams had to adjust to the time change in Australia, given that they arrived shortly before the game. The New York Giants will have to travel across almost the entire country to play the Los Angeles Rams on MNF, so, according to USA Today’s Art Stapleton on X, Harbaugh decided to head to the West Coast on Saturday to give his team enough time to adjust.
