CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Myles Garrett continues to pile up sacks and give quarterbacks nightmares.
And the Browns continue to win.
Garrett registered his sixth sack of the season, forced Phillip Rivers into an intentional grounding that gave the Browns a safety, hit Rivers four times and forced an interception with a QB pressure during Sunday’s 32-23 win over the Colts.
Just another day at the office for the 2017 No. 1 overall pick.
“He seems to do that,” head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “He is a great player, and we need him to be a great player. He is answering the bell.”
That safety extended the Browns’ advantage to two scores with 14:39 left in the fourth quarter.
“They had the momentum and were backed up,” Garrett said. “We needed a play to be made, and I am greedy when it comes to that. I want to make that big play. I want to make the play to put us over the top. Fortunately, I was able to. I was not able to get [Rivers] down and take the ball away in the end zone for six, but we will take two and the ball.”
While Garrett kept his sack streak rolling – now at 4 games and counting, the strip-sack streak came to an end at 3 straight games.
“The strip-sack streak has ended, but the streak that matters [winning] is still going,” Garrett said. “Definitely happy about that, and I am going to try to go out there and be disruptive as much as I can, but it is on those guys – the rest of the line, the linebackers and DBs – they have been balling. They are just allowing me to be effective by making them move the ball and get me freed up for some one on ones and I have just been able to come up and make the plays that I made.”
Safety Sheldrick Redwine, who was in for Ronnie Harrison after he suffered a concussion, picked Rivers off with 11:24 remaining in the fourth quarter after Garrett got to the Colts quarterback.
“That was my first drive on defense this season,” Redwine said. “I walk onto the field and I was staring at the ball, pointing at the ball and said, ‘I need you.’ For a feeling to just say that and then see that happen, it is unexplainable.”
Earlier in the game Harrison had a 47-yard pick-6 of Rivers to put the Browns up 27-10 in the third quarter.
The Browns have now recorded at least one takeaway in 12 straight games, the second-longest active streak in the NFL.
While the offense treaded water in the second half, the defense came up with 9 points to help secure a fourth straight win.
“Offensively, we did not put our defense in a great spot very often in that second half, but for us to come away with a pick-six and a safety was outstanding,” Stefanski said.
Garrett now has 36.5 career sacks and he passed Von Miller for the fifth-most sacks by a player in his first 42 career games and the fourth most sacks by a first-round draft pick in his first 42 career games.
Hollywood lights – Rashard Higgins got to roll out the red carpet after catching his first touchdown pass of the season Sunday – a 15 yarder from Baker Mayfield that put the Browns up 17-10 in the second quarter.
“Proud of him being able to deal with everything and come in and make plays when he can,” Mayfield said. “It looked like it was supposed to be Cover-2 and just kind of threw him open [on the TD]. That is just playing ball. That is knowing that guy. I have had a lot of reps with him and knowing where he is going to be.”
With the Browns placing KhaDarel Hodge on injured reserve this week, Higgins not only was active but started Sunday.
He caught all three targets for 31 yards and the score.
OBJ’s turn – Last week it was Jarvis Landry who got to show off his arm with a 37-yard touchdown to Odell Beckham Jr. and Sunday it was Beckham’s turn to show his QB skills.
Beckham found tight end Austin Hooper for 18 yards off a reverse that saw Mayfield pitch to Kareem Hunt running left, who then flipped to Beckham moving right.
“We went through practice and coach would take me out when we ran that play a couple times, just to help him fight the urge to throw me the ball,” Landry said. “It got to where we wanted it to go, and Hoop made a hell of a play and Odell made a hell of a throw.”
Beckham, who now has the most passing yards by a wide receiver since 2014 with 144, caught five passes for 58 yards to pass Torry Holt for the third-most receiving yards by a player in his first 80 career games in NFL history (6,805). He also passed Keenan Allen for the third-most receptions by a player in his first 80 career games in NFL history (485).
Making history – Stefanski is the first Browns coach to start 4-1 since Nick Scorich in 1971.
The Browns are 3-0 at home for the first time since 2004.
They have won four consecutive games for the first time since 2009, matching the longest win streak by the team since 1999.
Cleveland has scored at least 30 points in four consecutive games for the first time since 1968 and they beat the Colts at home for the first time since 1988.
It’s been awhile – The 4-1 start of the Browns is the best since 1994 when Bill Belichick was the head coach and Nick Saban was Cleveland’s defensive coordinator.
Also in 1994 Jacobs Field and Gund Arena had just opened, O.J. Simpson tried to outrun police, baseball went on strike with the Indians 1 game out of first place, the Allied occupation of Berlin, Germany officially ended and ‘Friends’ made its debut on NBC.
Injury report – RG Wyatt Teller (calf), Ronnie Harrison Jr. (concussion) and LB Jacob Phillips (knee) left Sunday’s game. QB Baker Mayfield (ribs-x-rays negative) finished the game. Teller and Phillips will undergo MRIs Monday.
