BroBible
Myles Garrett made NFL history on Sunday during a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The star pass rusher set a single season record for sacks with 23.
Play was momentarily halted to celebrate the achievement in an otherwise meaningless game. Those on the Bengals sidelines were unhappy with that stoppage.
Garrett entered the finale sitting on 22 after being held without a quarterback takedown the week prior vs. the Steelers. The NFL record stood at 22.5 ahead of his final performance. It fell in the fourth quarter against Cincy.
MYLES GARRETT IS THE NEW SACK RECORD KING.
CLEvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/Jaa4aBGrIl
— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026
He took down Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow as the Cleveland defense looked to hold onto a late 17-12 lead. Play was then stopped to recognize the accomplishment.
Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor said he was unaware that the game would be paused. He scolded officials in his ensuing press conference.
“There were five minutes left in our season,” he said. “We’re playing for our lives here. I was never told we were going to stop the game. In a critical moment like that, the refs said they made a decision that they were going to stop the game.
“They said they tried to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that… The umpire just held the ball, so we couldn’t do anything.”
#Bengals HC Zac Taylor was not happy that the refs stopped the game after Myles Garrett’s record-breaking sack. He said he was never told they would do that beforehand.
“We’re playing for our lives here. … In a critical moment like that… we were trying to be on the ball and… https://t.co/6FsTBHZu3u pic.twitter.com/xbc8r7tHJG
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 4, 2026
Ja’Marr Chase echoed those sentiments. He downplayed the significance of the moment while simultaneously ripping referees.
“That’s like me catching my tenth pass and the whole team running on the field,” he said in the locker room. “We would get flagged.”
#Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase also didn’t like the game stopping for Myles Garrett:
“That’s like me catching my 10th pass and the whole team running on the field.”
Chase says they better stop the game when he gets a record in the future.
( @FOX19Joe)pic.twitter.com/XCWMOsOFQS https://t.co/UDP0PIpILo
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 4, 2026
Cincinnati entered the matchup at 6-10 on the year. Cleveland was 4-12.
There were no playoff implications. No divisional race impacts. The Browns were cemented into their last place AFC North standing. The Bengals were guaranteed a losing season.
Sure, draft status could be slimly altered depending on the final result, but there was little importance outside of Myles Garrett’s sack record chase.
Taylor’s response seemed like sour grapes given what transpired in the moments to follow....
