INGLEWOOD — Quiet leadership has its time and place. Aaron Donald has done things that way for years, arriving to practice early and leaving late, in his own words “working my ass off” and silently influencing teammates to do the same.

There is a time to hold words in, to let the work speak for you. But on Sunday night, it was time for the world to hear Aaron Donald finally talk his talk.

Moments after ripping Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to the turf on fourth down, sending the ball tumbling out of his hands like a discarded toy, Donald popped off his helmet, raised his arms and shouted at the top of his lungs: “Ring me!”

The 30-year-old Rams defensive lineman has done everything the right way with a soft-spoken, diligent approach. Now after eight seasons, Donald can say anything he wants.

He’s a Super Bowl champion after a road that far surpassed even his own dreams.

“I would have never thought in a million years I’d be sitting here right now, with the success I’ve had in a short amount of time in this league,” he said. “You put the body of work in, a lot of good things can happen out of that.”

It certainly didn’t feel like a short wait.

Rams safety Eric Weddle, who knows what it is to hold out hope for years, was among the first to grab the helmet-less Donald in a joyful embrace as the Rams got the ball back with 39 seconds left, knowing that the elusive L.A. championship was now firmly in their grasp.

But throughout this season, the entire Rams team has spouted how, as much as any player on the roster, Donald gave them the motivation to win it all. Von Miller, who was the MVP of Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, said he wanted to see Donald have his championship moment.

The 13th overall pick in 2014 out of Pittsburgh, Donald is one of the few holdovers from the St. Louis era of the Rams. Before the team returned to Los Angeles in 2016, before Coach Sean McVay was hired, before the Rams went to the Super Bowl in 2019, Donald was grinding, establishing himself as not just a franchise star, but a fixture, steady and reliable. His 98 sacks and 23 forced fumbles are a tribute to his impact, yet don’t really say enough about the future Hall of Famer.

“Guys like him are why you coach: He’s elevated everybody,” McVay said. “The epitome of greatness is making everybody you’re around and every situation better. That’s exactly what Aaron does.”

There was something painfully unforgettable about how the Rams’ last postseason ended: Donald wiping tear-filled eyes in the frigid Green Bay winter, unable to stop his team from getting run over by the Packers in the divisional round. His ribs were aching, keeping him from making a difference, but what was even more obvious was that his heart was broken by yet another playoff run cut short.

The same was true in the Super Bowl as was true that day: If the Rams were to win the game, Donald would have to be a starring player.

For a half, he was confined to the wings of the stage. When the Bengals finally got themselves into the end zone in the second quarter, Donald was a spectator, well-blocked out of the play and biting on the trick play to Joe Mixon like everyone else in the stadium. He could only watch when receiver Tee Higgins shook Jalen Ramsey (with a little help from a facemask) and dashed for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Bengals the lead to start the third quarter.

Moments later, a Stafford pass bounced off of Ben Skowronek and into the hands of Chidobe Awuzie. After leading most of the first half, the Rams suddenly needed some kind of spark, with the Bengals taking over at their 31-yard line, to keep from sliding into the abyss.

That was when Donald truly emerged, sacking Burrow twice on the drive and limiting Cincinnati to just a field goal despite its advantageous position. On the second of these sacks, Donald plowed straight through guard Hakeem Adeniji to wrap his thick arms around Burrow, then flexed his arms, like a grizzly bear hunkered over his latest meal.

It was the start of a second-half deluge of pressure on Burrow, who from then on saw Rams pass rushers wedging through every crease. Six of L.A.’s Super Bowl record-tying seven sacks came during the second half. Without many of their offensive playmakers, including receiver Odell Beckham Jr. getting injured midway through the game, the Rams’ offense needed all the support it could get from that side of the ball.

On the final play when the Bengals were looking to throw, McVay beckoned reporters to go back and listen to him mic’d up: “I said, ‘Aaron is going to close the game out right here. He is the effing man.’”

Even before playing a snap, NFL observers were buzzing about Donald after NBC commentator Rodney Harrison sent a rumor flying on the broadcast: “He also told me this: If he wins a Super Bowl, there’s a strong possibility that he could walk away from the game and retire.”

Donald’s legacy is set: He’s an eight-time Pro Bowler and a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. His gold jacket is already waiting in Canton. Whenever the Rams get around to erecting statues outside of SoFi Stadium, he’ll be the first man cast in bronze.

Related Articles

But whatever he decides to do, Donald has no more what-ifs, could-have-beens, if-onlys. He won’t be one of the greatest to never win a Super Bowl; he’ll simply be one of the greatest ever. As he ran off the field, Donald showed the world his ring finger, pointing to where the last piece he had been chasing finally would slide into place.

Donald declined to comment on Harrison’s report, saying he was enjoying the moment that he got to share with his wife and three children, who spent a good chunk of the postgame celebration making snow angels in the blizzard of blue-and-gold confetti mounting on the turf.

Eight-year-old Jaeda Donald clutched a palmful of that confetti as she stood aside him on the postgame dais. Her father explained that three years ago in Super Bowl LIII, he failed to deliver a promise that they would get to bask in it.

“Wasn’t that fun?” Aaron asked. Jaeda enthusiastically agreed.

If that was the final mission for Donald and the Rams, he’s delivered on every promise he could reasonably be expected to keep.