Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is the NFL’s new single-season sack leader.
Garrett secured the record Sunday against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals with his 23rd sack of the season. The Browns beat the Bengals 20-18.
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A week after not recording a sack against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the star pass rusher needed almost the entire game to break the record. While he had a few close calls Sunday, Garrett came up short until roughly five minutes were left in the contest.
On a first-and-10 with 5:17 to go, Garrett sped past tackle Orlando Brown Jr., immediately putting pressure on Burrow. With the pocket collapsing and nowhere to go, Burrow started going to ground just as Garrett put a hand on the quarterback.
“I had a dream that I didn’t get it,” Garrett said afterward, “so it’s like, we gotta deny fate, whatever it is, you know, we gotta make it happen. I just went into it and still had the utmost confidence in myself and my preparation, and in my guys, man. I couldn’t do it without them.”
With that sack, Garrett stands alone on the single-season all-time sack leaderboard. He surpassed both New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and current Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt, who previously shared the record with 22.5 sacks in a single season.
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Not only did Garrett break the sack record, he did it with a faster get-off speed than any player on any single sack in the NFL all season. Per Next Gen Stats, Garrett’s get-off was 0.23 seconds on the record-breaking play.
“Probably the best get-off I ever had,” Garrett said.
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Garrett stood up and raised both hands in the air, and other Browns defenders celebrated Garrett’s accomplishment, with defensive tackle Shelby Harris jokingly high-fiving the referee. The rest of the Browns’ defense then rushed to celebrate with Garrett, as the broadcast cut to an image of Garrett’s parents celebrating in the stands.
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Garrett’s immediate reaction was captured by microphones, as he was mic’d up during the game.
How’s he going to celebrate?
“Probably with some pizza and ice cream,” Garrett said.
Some pretty notable names congratulated Garrett on the record, including LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons.
The Bengals didn’t echo the celebratory mood. Head coach Zac Taylor took issue with the delay in the game as officials gave the Browns time to celebrate the Garrett’s milestone.
“We’re playing for our lives here, and I was never told that we’re gonna stop the game,” Taylor said. “And in a critical moment like that. And the refs just said that they made a decision that they were gonna stop the game. And they said they tried to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that.”
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Last season, Garrett became the youngest player to reach 100 career sacks, accomplishing the feat the week before his 29th birthday. He also tied Hall of Famers Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor as the fourth fastest to reach the milestone, doing so in 115 games. Garrett has been a monster, bullying offensive linemen and terrorizing quarterbacks since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick for the Browns in 2017. He’s had double-digit sacks in eight of his first nine seasons in the NFL.
Despite Garrett’s work toward a record-breaking season in Cleveland, his frustration with the franchise has at times overshadowed his accomplishments. The Browns finished 5-12, and Garrett’s history chasing efforts have really been the only thing for fans to cheer for in Cleveland. Garrett signed a four-year contract extension last offseason worth $160 million and $123.5 in guaranteed money after publicly requesting a trade, and he didn’t hold back in his frustration with the losing earlier this season following a five-sack day in a blowout loss to New England.
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Over the past five years, Garrett has totaled no fewer than 14 sacks in each of those seasons. That includes his 2023 Defensive Player of the Year campaign, during which he finished with 14 sacks and was named first-team All-Pro for the third time.
Garrett is the overwhelming favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year again with BetMGM. Sunday’s historic sack will only help his case.
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