Myles Garrett surges into NFL history, matching the legendary single-season sack record against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals
After weeks of anticipation, Myles Garrett finally surpassed Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt's single-season sack record of 22.5 sacks. Garrett brought down Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday to notch sack No. 23 on the season and officially take a seat upon the thrown as the NFL's single-season sack king.
He celebrated the feat by taking a bow, as his teammates stormed the field to gather around him.
Here's the moment it happened:
Earlier in the week, Garrett expressed supreme confidence that he'd reach the milestone against his long-time counterpart Burrow, despite taking his chase of the record all the way to Week 18.
"My confidence hasn’t waivered," he said. "I’m fully confident that it’ll come, so I’m fine."
His belief was warranted. Garrett and Burrow have crossed paths numerous times throughout their careers already. Now they'll forever be part of a historic NFL highlight.
The 2023 Defensive Player of the Year may not be done yet, either. Throughout the season, he has written the number 25 on his wrist tape, signifying the figure he hoped to push the record to before the 2025 campaign concluded.
Garrett came close on several other occasions to bringing down Burrow, but the star QBs ability to get rid of the ball quickly kept him at bay for most of Sunday afternoon. Finally, he was able to cash in, and may have a chance to punctuate it over the final few minutes of regulation.
Reaching the record puts the cherry on top what's easily been the best season of Garrett's career, and one that's headed for Canton one day. Along with the 23 sacks, Garrett entered Week 18 with 32 tackles for loss, the most of his career, 37 QB hits, three forced fumbles and 59 total tackles.
Garrett also talked about toppling the NFL's single-season TFL record of 39, which was set by J.J. Watt in 2012. That's a record that will have to wait for another season, as Garrett sat at 32 TFLs coming into Sunday.
That figure still speaks to his prowess in not just getting to the quarterback, but also stopping run plays in the backfield. It's something head coach Kevin Stefanski and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz have raved about as an element of Garrett's game that gets underappreciated.