Aaron Donald has spent his Hall of Fame-caliber career terrorizing quarterbacks, tossing offensive linemen aside and making grown men look foolish on football fields across America.
On Sunday afternoon at SoFi Stadium, the joke was finally on him.
During the Los Angeles Rams' 24-9 victory over the Chargers in the Battle for LA, Donald had a golden opportunity to score a rare defensive touchdown. Instead, the veteran defensive tackle delivered one of the funniest bloopers of the NFL season, leaving his teammates and head coach Sean McVay laughing in disbelief .
With 1:52 remaining in the third quarter, Rams undrafted rookie linebacker Wesley Bailey strip-sacked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert at the 26-yard line, sending the football bouncing toward Donald.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year immediately saw daylight and the end zone nearby and thought, 'I'm about to score the first touchdown of my NFL career!'
Aaron Donald #99 of the Los Angeles Rams tackles Kimani Vidal #28 of the Los Angeles Chargers in Inglewood, Calif., Nov. 1, 2026. Getty Images
With nothing but green grass between him and the end zone, Donald attempted to scoop up the loose ball near the 20-yard line and race toward the promised land.
Unfortunately, his hands had other plans.
Donald completely whiffed on the recovery, stumbled forward and fell onto the football before inadvertently knocking it out of bounds.
Instead of six points for the Rams, the Chargers retained possession after a nine-yard loss.
Television cameras caught Donald looking absolutely stunned, while his teammates erupted in laughter. Even injured Rams superstar Myles Garrett, watching from a nearby exercise bike, couldn't contain his amusement.
McVay couldn't believe his eyes.
"I'm going to give him such a hard time about that," McVay said. "I saw what he was thinking. He was thinking I'm going to scoop and score, and then he knocks that shit out of bounds and I'm like 'what the hell!' You should have seen his face after that, he couldn't even look at me. I'm glad we can laugh about it now."
Linebacker Byron Young couldn't resist taking a playful shot at the future Hall of Famer.
"I love AD, but he's getting a little old you know," Young joked. "I'm joking, I'm joking. He's always around the ball."
Fortunately, Donald's butterfingers didn't cost the Rams anything. The Chargers punted two plays later, and Los Angeles cruised to its second consecutive victory, improving to 4-4.
Donald hurried off the field afterward and wasn't available to reporters in the locker room.
Perhaps he had postgame dinner reservations, or was still trying to recover his dignity.
Either way, the Rams, McVay, and the media won't forget about this embarrassing mishap anytime soon.
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