CINCINNATI, Ohio — Myles Garrett walked onto the grass inside Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati with 22 sacks on the season, a half sack away from tying the NFL single-season sack record and one away from breaking it. Garrett had one more chance to make history before the end of the 2025 season against one of the two quarterbacks he's sacked the most in his career—Bengals' Joe Burrow. With just five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of Sunday's season finale, Garrett wrapped around the edge and swallowed Burrow, etching his name as the sole owner of most sacks in a single season.
The record, set in 2001 by former Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and tied in 2021 by Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt, the record has stood at 22.5 for the last 24 years.
Garrett has always aimed to be the best at his position. A few years ago, Garrett set a goal of breaking the record after a dream he had where he didn't just record 22.5 sacks, but 25. It's motivated him so deeply that he's been writing "25" on his wrist tape throughout this season.
"I set that goal three years ago for myself. I had a dream, or I had that written on my tape, and I was going to get 25, and I feel like that was just meant to be," Garrett said before the team's Week 14 matchup against the Titans.
In Week 14, Garrett entered the game against the Titans needing four sacks, and against one of the worst offensive lines in the league, it felt more than possible. Things didn't shake out that way, and Garrett only got to rookie quarterback Cam Ward once.
So, with the sack record in sight against the Chicago Bears in Week 15, Garrett tried again.
In the second quarter of the frigid game in the Windy City, Garrett found Caleb Williams and brought him down to close his magic number down to 1.5 to tie and two to break the record.
Garrett continued pushing toward the record and got to Williams again. What was thought at first to be a full sack for Garrett was ultimately split with defensive tackle Shelby Harris, who got to Williams at the same time as Garrett but pulled away as Garrett finished the tackle.
So, that number moved to one sack to tie and 1.5 to break the record.
The count continued the next week as the Browns hosted the Buffalo Bills. Garrett hoped to take down Josh Allen and get his 1.5 sacks to break the record. Unfortunately, Allen and the Bills weren't keen on letting the record be set against them. Allen dumped out a number of quick passes while under pressure from Garrett and rolled out away from him at every chance.
Garrett did add to his sack total in that Week 16 game, splitting a sack with defensive end Alex Wright after refs ruled Allen gave himself up while Garrett and Wright were chasing him down behind the line of scrimmage. The split sack put Garrett at 22 on the season, just a half away from tying and only one away from breaking.
Inching closer and closer to history, Garrett said the pressure wasn't there for him. It was a matter of if, not when.
"Pressure? Nah, no pressure. Like I said, it's going down, so I'm not stressed or worried about if I'm going to get it. It's just a matter of when," he said on Friday ahead of the Browns' Week 17 game against the Steelers.
Week 17 set the stage for a full-circle moment amid the pending history-making moment. It was the last home game of the season, playing against a rival and going against Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback against whom Garrett had never notched a sack. It was an intriguing prospect for Garrett as he prepared for the game.
"It would be special. He's legendary himself and it's a legendary record I'm out here chasing, so that'd be a great one to put a picture on the wall with," Garrett said.
The task to break the record against Rodgers and the Steelers was a tall one. Not only had Garrett never taken down Rodgers, but the Steelers' offensive line has also been a developing strength of theirs, with Rodgers being a master at getting the ball out quickly. That was clear on Sunday.
As Garrett worked the offensive line, hitting spins and swim moves, bull rushes and combos, he closed in on Rodgers a number of times, a tinge of excitement filling the air inside Huntington Bank Field each time Garrett got near Rodgers. But while he was close, Rodgers evaded him over and over. Rodgers was sacked twice, but never allowed Garrett near him, opting for checkdowns and dump passes any time it was Garrett closing in on him. While Garrett didn't set the record that game, the Browns got the most important thing accomplished—a win to close out the season at home.
“To an extent, I feel like they were more worried about keeping me away from Aaron than getting the win, and I think that’s what came back to bite them," Garrett said after the game.
So, everything came down to the final game of the season. Closing out the year the same way they opened it, against the Bengals, Garrett had one more opportunity to get that lone sack needed for the record.
With just minutes remaining for him to break the record, Garrett broke past Bengals OL Orlando Brown Jr., wrapped around Burrow and brought him down, recording his 23rd sack of the season.
With Garrett claiming the NFL's single-season sack record, he has solidified himself as a clear candidate for his second Defensive Player of the Year Award—and continued adding to his legacy and that goal he has to be one of, if not the, best to ever play the position.
