Myles Garrett sacking QBs, dropping records during torrid spree that has awed teammates, coaches and opponents
BEREA — Every time Myles Garrett gets his hands on another exposed quarterback, he invariably drops a personal or team record in the process.
This season, he’s doing it in bunches.
With a league-leading 15 sacks — including 10 over the past three games — going into Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Garrett is on pace to shatter the NFL record for sacks in a season (22.5), a mark shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
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For that to happen this week, Garrett would need eight sacks, a feat that would break the single-game record of seven set in 1990 by Derrick Thomas. That might seem unattainable to everyone except Garrett, who had an eight-sack game in high school and is playing at a level rarely seen.
“He has it all,” said Raiders quarterback Geno Smith, who will be in Garrett’s crosshairs this week. “He’s obviously a physical specimen — big dude that can run fast. But he has all the moves. He’s got speed. He’s got power. And he’s very disruptive.
“You can see it. He’s had a really hot past three weeks, and we got to cool him down.”
Best of luck with that, Geno.
As they say around the poker and blackjack tables along the Vegas Strip, Garrett is on a heater.
Before the Browns’ bye week, the six-time Pro Bowler and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year racked up five sacks in a 32-13 loss at New England. After getting just one sack against the New York Jets on Nov. 9, Garrett bounced back by sacking Lamar Jackson, Baltimore’s ultra-elusive QB, four times a week ago.
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In doing so, he became just the fourth player in history to record at least four sacks in multiple games in a season, and the first to get 12 sacks in six consecutive seasons. A lock for the Hall of Fame, Garrett is one sack from matching his team record for a season and joining J.J. Watt and Reggie White as the only players to get 16 three times.
Garrett’s already the Browns’ career sacks leader with 117.5 (Clay Matthews is second with a paltry 62), and there are no signs he’s slowing down. He missed practice Friday with an illness but will play vs. the Raiders.
“Obviously he’s a freakish looking guy,” said Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who joked about having defensive end Maxx Crosby play both ways to slow Garrett. “He’s 270-something pounds and moves like a linebacker. Then when you watch his movement skill, you’re like there aren’t many big people that move that way.
“He’s as good as we’re going to face out there. So that’s got a ton of attention for us.”
The many numbers Garrett has posted can be mind-numbing, which is why the Browns devote two pages of their weekly game notes to chronicle his successes.
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Garrett is playing like a man of steel.
“It’s cool to see what he’s doing,” said Browns rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger. “It’s pretty crazy to be able to watch that and it’s like you see some of the stat lines and it’s almost just normal, which is crazy because it’s not normal to see that.”
Not normal. Not just on gamedays, either.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said the 29-year-old superstar doesn’t take any days off.
“There’s been many a practice that he’s ruined and that’s when he’s practicing versus Browns, that’s when he’s practicing against another team like we do in training camp,” he said. “So we get to see it day in and day out, even in those settings. Probably not fair to reflect too much right now other than to say he’s a great player for us. He’s a great leader for us that we follow and we’re counting on him.”
Garrett has provided some hope in an otherwise dismal season. As the unquestioned leader of an elite, emerging Browns defense, Garrett has given Cleveland fans something to cheer for when they aren’t arguing over rookie quarterbacks.
He’s made plays that almost defy description, whether it’s bending like a gymnast to turn the corner or fighting through a conga line of blockers.
From his safety spot, Grant Delpit has watched Garrett with awe.
“Sometimes I don’t even know what happens really,” said Delpit, who admitted to rewinding game tape to see what he missed. “I just know, he got a sack. Then we go back and watch it. He’s throwing people, face plants, both feet in the air.
“When it’s all said and done, he’s gonna be the greatest to ever do it. And it’s really a privilege playing with him on the defense. He really wrecks the game up front. So you can’t ask for no more as a DB.”
Stefanski has witnessed Garrett’s greatness grow for six seasons. He’s seen No. 95 destroy game plans designed to stop him. There’s nothing Garrett does that surprises him, but he’s not comfortable in saying this is the best he’s seen from him.
“I’ve had a front row seat to it all,” Stefanski said. “The level at which he’s playing is impressive, but I do think there’s more there. We’ve talked about over the years with Myles, pay attention to how he plays the run, pay attention to the tackles for loss. Sacks get so much attention in our NFL world, and our football world — and that’s fine because they’re important.
“But affecting the game in a variety of ways is so important. So just pressuring the quarterback, harassing the quarterback, making life hard on a quarterback. But also playing the run, playing physical against the run, getting tackles for loss, taking on a double team so your teammate can make a play. Listen, the stats are what they are and it’s so impressive, but the impact on the game on a down-to-down basis I think is what probably might be overlooked by some of the stats.”
