Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns did just enough to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last night. It was a tough, hard-fought game, and arguably the better team on the day won. But there are no moral victories for an 8-2 team, especially when losing to a 2-8 team. Even though the Browns just won their Super Bowl, it doesn’t feel any better on a Thursday morning.
The Browns expended whatever they had in them in order to beat the Steelers. Myles Garrett admitted as much after the game, speaking with Kaylee Hartung at the end of the Amazon Prime broadcast about how it “took everything” to win.
“It took absolutely everything” for the Browns to beat the Steelers, Garrett insisted. “They definitely punched back. They made some plays late. We had to continue to find a way. They’re strong, they’re physical. Russell [Wilson] really got them going, but Jameis [Winston] made plays when he needed to. Our guys are just as talented, and we just had a little bit more in the tank”.
While the Steelers opened scoring with a field goal—after missing one—the Browns proceeded to score 10 unanswered. That included doing to the Steelers what they did to the Ravens on Sunday—stealing three before the half. Garrett played a pivotal role in holding them to three points in the first half, including three first-half sacks.
Because he knows where his team stands. They made the playoffs a year ago, but they don’t have much of a chance of sniffing it this year. Garrett stands second in the NFL in sacks, and will probably receive another Defensive Player of the Year Award, too. But he knows right now he’s playing for personal hardware and pride.
“I just tried to be as contagious as I could with the approach that I had coming into this game, this week”, Garrett said, describing how he worked to get the Browns up for this Steelers game despite their dismal hopes. “Just trying to influence my guys to take this serious. It doesn’t matter what our record is. We always have something to play for, just find it. Find your ‘why’, come out here, and play as best as you can”.
It’s small consolation that the Browns had to give everything to beat the Steelers. At the end of the day, they got the job done. Mission accomplished. Congratulations, Myles Garrett; you had a great half, and your defense closed out the game. After giving up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and relinquishing the lead, granted. But you did it.
But can Garrett and the Browns get themselves up for the Denver Broncos up next? Can they beat the Steelers twice in three weeks? They still have the Chiefs and a rematch against the Ravens on top. This is easily going to be a double-digit-loss team—unless they can pour everything into every single game the way they needed to to overcome the Steelers last night.
