Myles Garrett won’t see the Pittsburgh Steelers again this season. Eliminated from the playoffs, his Cleveland Browns are playing for nothing but pride their final four games. After getting convincingly beaten at Acrisure Stadium to the tune of “Cleveland sucks” chats from Steelers fans, Garrett is already creating a chip on his shoulder to bring into 2025.
“We’ll see them again next year,” Garrett said of the Steelers to reporters postgame via the Browns’ YouTube channel. “So end result is they have that same energy when we come to their house next year.”
Pittsburgh’s home dominance over Cleveland continues. The Steelers’ 27-14 victory Sunday marked their 21st-straight regular-season home victory, not losing to the Browns at home in a regular-season game since 2003. Pittsburgh has had its troubles beating Cleveland on the road, including losing there each of the last three seasons but few teams if any have had a home stretch like the Steelers against the Browns.
The chants came late in the game when Pittsburgh’s win probability neared 100 percent. PR Kadarius Toney fumbled a Corliss Waitman punt, recovered by gunner and WR Ben Skowronek that allowed Pittsburgh to salt the game away with one final first down.
Following an impressive three-sack outing two weeks ago, Garrett couldn’t deliver an encore performance. Like all great pass rushers, Pittsburgh gave him plenty of attention, but its execution was far more effective. Garrett’s impact plays came late when the outcome was largely decided, recovering a Cordarrelle Patterson fumble and sacking QB Russell Wilson on his final drop back of the game.
It was the only time in the game Wilson was sacked.
Sitting at 3-10, the Browns will enter the offseason with plenty of questions. Who is the answer at quarterback and if not Deshaun Watson, how does the team handle his bloated contract? How can the defense stop underachieving? Is it time to find a new face at running back? With just three playoff appearances since re-entering the league in 1999, Steelers fans “Cleveland sucks” chants are impossible to ignore and hard to counter.
Garrett has the right to bring that energy into 2025. Pittsburgh is too busy focusing on what the rest of 2024 means.
