In what is becoming a tradition when two teams meet up for a joint practice, sparks and fists flew as the Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams met up on Saturday. In particular, things were heated early and often between Cowboys left guard Connor Williams and Rams defensive tackle, Aaron Donald.
The practice video showed several reps where the two locked up, and Donald got pushy after the play was over. On this snap, the two pushed and shoved enough that Williams judo threw Donald to the ground leading to two sides getting support from their teammates.
The two have played a lot of snaps against each other over the years. They’ve played each other twice since Williams has come into the league and had some back and forth battles. Williams got the best of Donald in their individual matchup in the 2018 divisional round of the playoffs. Most recently, however, Donald got the better end of the matchup.
In week one of last season, Williams gave up four total pressures, all hurries, and Donald had 10 total pressures, including a sack and three quarterback hits.
It’s been a back and forth battle, but Williams has never allowed a sack to Donald or the Los Angeles Rams.
While Williams has generally been wrongly considered the weak link of the Cowboys’ offensive line, he’s held his own against arguably the best player in the NFL. Donald is a multi-time defensive player of year recipient and has been a dominant force since coming into the NFL. And Williams has performed admirably against him.
Williams will start for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021, but the future beyond that is a bit murky. With his performance against Donald in the joint practices, it looks like he’s ready to fight in the trenches this season.
