Myles Garrett’s Final Chance to Break the NFL Sack Record

CINCINNATI — Myles Garrett is on the verge of making history this Sunday in Cincinnati, as he has one last opportunity to break the NFL sack record. The current record stands at 22.5 sacks, held by Michael Strahan of the Giants and T.J. Watt of the Steelers. Garrett is determined to surpass that mark, and he shows no signs of doubt.

“My confidence hasn’t waivered,” Garrett said on Friday. “I’m fully confident that it will come.”

Despite being held without a sack during the Browns’ 13-6 victory over the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers last week, Garrett hasn’t let that setback affect his mindset. He insists that he never considers what could go wrong, focusing instead on how to make things right.

“No. You don’t think about what’s going to go wrong in your life, do you?” he said. “Just think about how to make it go right.”

Garrett has a strong track record against Joe Burrow, having sacked him 11 times in nine meetings. That ties him with Lamar Jackson for the most sacks against any quarterback. In the season opener, a 17-16 loss to the Browns, Garrett recorded two sacks against Burrow.

“Would I have known (he’s at the top)?” Garrett asked. “Absolutely. I’ve seen his face on the ground looking up at me saying, ‘Hi, Myles,’ and (I say), ‘Hi, Joe’ too many times. So yeah, I figured he’d be at the top.”

Jackson recently caught up with a four-sack game in the Browns’ loss to the Ravens on November 16. Garrett acknowledged the challenge Jackson posed.

“Well, Lamar recently had to pick up some slack,” Garrett said. “He’s made me miss a little bit more than everybody else.”

Bengals coach Zac Taylor addressed Garrett’s claim that the Steelers prioritized preventing him from breaking the record over winning the game. The Steelers had a chance to clinch the AFC North with a win.

“I don’t agree with that,” Taylor said on Wednesday. “Every team goes in there with Myles Garrett on every single play, ‘what are we going to do with him?’ Pittsburgh was trying to win the game. The way to do that is you try to limit Myles Garrett. You watch every tape. Teams are doing everything they can to limit his effectiveness. Every run, pass, screen, naked. It all has 95 in mind.

“Our plan has never been any different. You want to limit his effectiveness. He makes as much of an impact on the game as any player in the NFL. Period. You think about 95 in your head every second of every week you’re playing the Cleveland Browns. You have to be ready for him.”

Burrow, who has been sacked 15 times this season and ranks 38th in the NFL, isn’t planning to avoid Garrett at all costs.

“I’m not gonna go out of my way to not let him get the record… I’m gonna go play football,” Burrow said on Wednesday. “There are going to be situations where a sack is the best of the bad outcomes of that play.”

Garrett emphasized that the record doesn’t have to look a certain way, though he hopes it comes in a win.

“No. They all count,” he said. “So I don’t care if I run his (expletive) out of bounds. However he gets got, he gets got.”