The Ballad of Aaron Donald

Football, the old axiom goes, is a simple game made complicated by coaches. At root, it is -- and always will be -- a game of blocking and tackling.

So it’s fitting that with a championship on the line, with the Rams needing to drive the length of the field to score a touchdown to take the lead late in the fourth quarter, they looked to the one-man left standing, to the game’s most uncoverable receiver: Cooper Kupp. And that when they needed a stop to get off the field, to seal the victory, they looked to the game’s most unblockable defender: Aaron Donald.

And it’s fitting that as the Bengals looked to put the game away, as they tried to force a game-winning stop of their own, they were left with Eli Apple isolated on Kupp. Touchdown. And when they needed to hold up in pass protection, just for three or four beats, they were left with Donald one-on-one in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Pressure. Incompletion. Game over.

It was a title that was decided by the Jimmy’s and Joe’s, not…