The Black Cats fell a goal down when Reo Griffiths opened the scoring with a low shot in the 22nd minute.
Doncaster then doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time after Sunderland failed to clear a corner and Tommy Rowe fired home a second.
Sunderland did create better chances after the break, and brought on Jermain Defoe with just under 20 minutes to go.
Corry Evans pulled a late goal back but it was too little too late.
Our chief SAFC writer Phil Smith has delivered his verdict on how each Sunderland player fared:
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Sunderland did create better chances after the break, and brought on Jermain Defoe with just under 20 minutes to go.