Patriots look to match Aaron Donald’s quickness in Super Bowl

ATLANTA — Tom Brady knows what Aaron Donald can do.

He doesn’t need to wait to find out.

In 2016, when the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams last met, the quarterback averaged 2.09 seconds in the pocket before attempting a pass, his second-fastest release time that season, according to Pro Football Focus. He held onto the ball for 2.5 or fewer seconds on 73.9 percent of dropbacks, a rate he hasn’t topped in the 44 games since.

Donald, an All-Pro defensive tackle, awaits Sunday on the sport’s largest stage.

Bring out the popcorn — and a stopwatch.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick recently characterized Donald as “pretty much unblockable.” Brady can help his blockers with timely decision-making. Quick passes, double teams and various concepts exploiting Donald’s aggression are among the strategies expected to be implemented during the teams’ Super Bowl meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Donald led the NFL with 20½ sacks this season. His block-shedding quickness is arguably just as disruptive against the run.

An impact in both areas will be needed Sunday.

Patriots running back Sony Michel logged 24 caries for 129 yards and three touchdowns against the Los Angeles Chargers in the divisional round. In the AFC championship game, he had 29 carries for 113 yards and two scores.

“We have to stop the run first,” said Donald, who recorded no sacks and three pressures in a 26-10 loss to New England in 2016. “I feel like they can run the ball great. That gives them a lot of opportunities to get the pass going with Brady. If we can stop the run, we can get after the quarterback. I know he gets the ball off quick, but I trust our secondary and the guys in our back end to do their job, lock things down.”

Donald knows the difficulty of reaching Brady, who hasn’t been sacked this postseason.

But the payoff is clear.

Pocket quarterbacks with limited athleticism tend to struggle when pressured up the middle. Brady is no different. According to Next Gen Stats, he had a 118 passer rating this season when facing pressure from the edge compared with a 65 rating against interior pressure.

Donald led the NFL with 106 pressures during the regular season, per Pro Football Focus.

“I’m just going to keep playing,” Donald said of Brady’s quick release. “There’s nothing much you can do but to keep fighting and try to make him uncomfortable.”

Said Brady: “I’ve gone against a lot of great pass rushers, from Jason Taylor to Michael Strahan to Terrell Suggs to Von Miller, J.J. Watt, Richard Seymour. Aaron is right up there with those guys. He’s one of the best to ever play the game. … We’re just going to have to hang in there and fight ’em out all day and try to be as competitive and stay balanced. You know, you can’t become a 50-, 60-pass game and just let them tee off on you.”

This is New England’s fourth Super Bowl appearance in five years and ninth in 18 under Belichick and Brady. The two are looking for their sixth title together, having narrowly missed the accomplishment last season despite Brady setting a Super Bowl record with 505 passing yards in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Brady, 41, has defied time.

With quickness Sunday, he can keep it on his side.

Contact reporter Michael Gehlken at mgehlken@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GehlkenNFL on Twitter.