Sunday perfectly sums up Myles Garrett’s NFL career. A great individual player with all the accolades anyone could want. A terrible franchise going nowhere. Even by Garrett’s high standards, he put in a career day in Week 8 against the New England Patriots. Garrett finished with five sacks, giving him 112.5 for his career and entering Sunday night, a half-sack more than the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt.
But Garrett’s performance came in a 32-13 blowout loss to the New England Patriots as the Browns tumbled to 2-6 and even further out of the playoff picture.
Among active players, Garrett’s surpassed Watt for fourth place. Here’s the leaderboard.
Most Sacks (Active Players)
1. Von Miller –133.5
2. Cameron Jordan – 124.0
3. Calais Campbell – 113.5
4. Myles Garrett – 112.5
5. T.J. Watt – 112.0
Garrett got things started by taking down QB Drake Maye on the Patriots’ opening possession, holding New England to a field goal. He did the same in the second quarter, forcing another Patriots’ field goal that kept Cleveland out in front 7-6 after a Browns first quarter touchdown.
Despite Garrett racking up his personal stats, the rest of the defense failed to contain the Patriots.
New England stormed out of the second half gates with 21 third quarter points, expanding a 9-7 halftime lead to a 30-7 advantage. A pair of Cleveland turnovers kept the margin wide while rookie RB Quinshon Judkins was injured with a shoulder injury.
Garrett’s career has been defined by personal accolades and organizational failures. His five sacks set a Browns’ record, breaking the 4.5 sack record Garrett previously held in a 2021 win over the Chicago Bears. But that is a side story to the outcome, a convincing Patriots’ win in spite of Garrett’s constant pressure.
Since sacks became an official stat in 1982, Garrett is the 20th player to record five in a game. But he’s only the fourth to do so in a losing effort and first since Derrick Thomas, who had seven, in 1990. Thomas and the other two, Howie Long and Leslie O’Neal, did so in close losing efforts. None of those games were decided by more than three points. Cleveland, meanwhile, got boat raced, meaning Garrett has the biggest loss in a five sack game in NFL history.
As some astute social media users pointed out, Garrett could finish the game with more sacks than his team will record wins all season.
Garrett rescinded his trade request after, in his own words, being shown a franchise path to winning. That hasn’t materialized. Instead, Garrett could be destined to become a highly-paid pass rusher with great individual accomplishments but little team success. Watt has stated his goals have shifted from personal to legacy, wanting to be defined by playoff success. So far, that has been fleeting. Watt’s yet to be part of a playoff win.
Now, he’s behind Garrett in the head-to-head matchup. Watt and Garrett don’t compete directly but their careers have been and will forever be compared. Watt will have a chance to get back in front tonight against the Green Bay Packers.
