(670 The Score) Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett is three sacks shy of the NFL’s single-season record, a mark of 22.5 set in by Hall of Fame pass rusher Michael Strahan in 2001 and matched by Steelers star T.J. Watt in 2021.
As the Bears (9-4) prepare to host the Browns (3-10) on Sunday at Soldier Field, they understand the importance of trying to contain Garrett. Head coach Ben Johnson also knows that’s easier said than done.
“He’s just a complete player,” Johnson said Wednesday. “When you look at the size and strength and speed, it's just a unique package where he really has it all. I mean, he's very strong. He's got that bull rush that can take a tackle and put him on roller skates and walk him right back into the quarterback, which happens quite a bit. Because every team that you see on tape, I mean, they have a plan for him to slow him down, and yet the chip gets off of him, and he just still walks that tackle on back into the quarterback. And so he does a great job with that.
“Heaven forbid you ever leave him one-on-one, and that's really where he shows up. He's almost unblockable that way in pass protection. So, a lot of respect for him. He's done an incredible job. And just to look at the number of double teams, triple teams, as you see on tape, and yet, he still has 20 sacks on the season, it's pretty remarkable. And it's a special season for him, no doubt."
Garrett, 29, has 122.5 sacks in his nine-year NFL career. He has had just one season with fewer than 10 sacks – an injury-diminished rookie campaign in 2017.
Strahan originally set the single-season record of 22.5 sacks in a 16-game season back in 2001. Watt matched it in a 17-game season in 2021 in which he played 15 games. Garrett could potentially set the record in fewer than 17 games. He has sacks in seven straight games, compiling 16 sacks in that span.
Of course, the Bears hope Garrett stays out of their backfield Sunday.
“He's right there at the sack record, almost there at the sack record, and so I’m going to try and make sure that he doesn't get the sack record on us and on me,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said of Garrett on Wednesday.
“You’ve just got to make sure every single snap, every single play, everything is not allowing them to wreck the game. That's something that he can do. That's something that he's done throughout his whole career. And so we're excited for the challenge, we're excited for this week, we're excited to try and get back into the win column.”