The Pittsburgh Steelers put every team at a disadvantage every week when they have T.J. Watt lining up against their right tackle, as arguably the best edge rusher in the entire league. But the Cleveland Browns can stake claim to that as well with their own Myles Garrett, who entered the day with a two-sack lead on the rest of the NFL, and he added another sack on top of it.
That sack came against rookie fourth-round left tackle Dan Moore Jr., who has played nearly every snap this season and started every game. He’s had his ups and downs, but has been stronger in the run game than in pass protection, and they didn’t give him much help today against Garrett—who has decorated his front yard with tombstones of all the quarterbacks he’s sacked in his career.
“I’ve been joking with Dan all week, and I just told him, now he can finally sleep”, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said after the game about his young tackle largely being put on an island against one of the best in the game.
“Myles is a special talent, and I told him after the game that he can keep the tombstone in there, but I’ll take the win”, Roethlisberger quipped. “He’s special. I thought Dan did a great job. I think Myles had one sack. Maybe two? I don’t even know. But the one? It’s tough. You ask a guy, especially a rookie, to go against that guy, and what he did today was pretty special. I can’t say enough about the line. Run game, pass pro. They’re the heart of this group”.
Officially, Garrett was credited with one sack, two quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, and four tackles overall. He had one of two sacks on the day for the Browns, who as a team had five quarterback hits as well. But the Steelers had the edge on the edge.
Watt, for example, had a sack and a half on his own, splitting one with Cameron Heyward. Chris Wormley also had a sack, while Isaiahh Loudermilk was also credited with a sack for being the defender closest to Baker Mayfield when he was forced to scramble out of bounds for a loss of yardage. The Steelers also had six hits as a team, three from Watt.
Garrett now has 10.5 sacks on the season, with a two-sack lead still. Watt has moved into a tie for second place with the Titans’ Harold Landry with 8.5. Those two teams have yet to have their bye week.
