Entering Sunday’s matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett knows that the Steelers will do all they can to try and take him away, not allowing him to have much of an impact on the game.
They’ve done that time and time again in Browns-Steelers matchups. Sunday will be no different.
Garrett has generated 17 pressures and three sacks in the last five matchups with the Steelers, going largely against left tackle Dan Moore Jr. That will be the case again on Sunday as the Steelers travel to Cleveland for a key AFC North matchup.
Though Moore has played better in recent weeks, the Steelers will treat Garrett the same, sliding protection his way, chipping him with running backs and tight ends, and getting the ball out quick to try and negate his impact as a pass rusher.
“Shoot, we gotta get more physical with them. Gotta find a way. They’re going to throw the kitchen sink at me. Well, then I gotta throw the fridge back, I guess, huh?” Garrett told reporters, according to video via the Browns’ YouTube page.
Garrett sure knows a thing or two about throwing things at Steelers offensive players, huh?
I digress.
The last time the Steelers matched up with Browns, Garrett was limited to just one tackle and one quarterback hit. He had just three pressures, too, as the Steelers got the ball out quickly and gave Moore plenty of help. That said, when he did match up with Moore one-on-one, Garrett won consistently.
But the Steelers know what they’re doing against Garrett, so he expects more of the same on Sunday.
“Just everything. Sometimes they’ll have the tight end. They’ll follow me wherever I go, send a back to wherever I go,” Garrett said. “They’ll slide my way if they’re trying to get the tight end off the formation, or if they’re trying to get the back a free release. They’re trying to make sure I’m not going one-on-one as much as possible.”
That’s rather smart considering how great Garrett is. It’s the same way teams treat T.J. Watt on the other side of the football, so it’s nothing new. We’ll see if Moore can hold up a bit better against Garrett on Sunday than he has in the past. If he can win more one-on-one reps, that might allow the Steelers to do things a bit differently at times offensively, giving them a better chance to put up points.
