Steelers Now
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett officially etched his name into NFL history on Sunday, recording his 23rd sack of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals and breaking the league’s single-season sack record.
The history-making play came in the fleeting moments of the fourth quarter when Garret turned the corner to bring down Joe Burrow.
Garrett surpassed the previous record of 22.5 sacks, a mark shared by T.J. Watt, who accomplished the feat in 2021 in just 15 games, and Michael Strahan, who set the standard during the 2001 season in a full 16-game slate.
Entering Sunday’s matchup, Garrett sat at 22 sacks, needing just a half-sack to tie the record and one full sack to break it. Ironically, he faced a similar opportunity the previous week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but was held without reaching the milestone. Following that game, Garrett and others around the league criticized Pittsburgh’s heavy emphasis on neutralizing him, with many believing the Steelers’ singular focus on preventing the record played a role in their offensive struggles. In the end, the delay proved meaningless, Garrett was always going to get there.
While the Cleveland Browns have endured a disappointing season overall, it does nothing to diminish the magnitude of Garrett’s dominance. The former No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has now amassed 125.5 career sacks, the third-most among all active NFL players, despite frequently facing double, and triple-teams.
For much of the season, opposing offenses built entire game plans around slowing Garrett down, sliding protections his way and leaving other Browns defenders with favorable matchups. Yet even with constant double teams and chip help, Garrett continued to wreck games and dictate protections in a way few defensive players in league history ever have.
This record-breaking season adds yet another accolade to Garrett’s résumé and further solidifies what is already shaping up to be a surefire Hall of Fame career. Even in a down year for Cleveland, Myles Garrett delivered one of the most dominant defensive seasons the league has ever seen.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Browns DE Myles Garrett Makes History, Breaks T.J. Watt’s Single-Season Sack Record
