Myles Garrett needs four sacks in the Cleveland Browns’ final five games to set the NFL’s single-season record.
Given the six-time All-Pro edge rusher’s recent performance and the team’s next opponent, there is a possibility it could happen Sunday when the Browns (3-9) host the Tennessee Titans (1-11) at Huntington Bank Field.
“Hopefully, he gets it. But I just pray he don’t get it this week,” said Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
Garrett has 19 sacks, and the 29-year-old former No. 1 draft pick has his sights set on surpassing the mark of 22 1/2 shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, who set the record in 2001 and retired after the 2007 season, and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt, who matched the record in 2021.
Titans rookie quarterback Cam Ward has been sacked a league-high 48 times. He has gone down at least twice in each of his 12 games, including eight in which he has been sacked at least four times.
Garrett has posted a sack in six straight games, amassing 15 in that span and reaching 19 for the season — the most ever by a player through 12 games since sacks became an official stat in 1982, and more than three entire teams this season. The Carolina Panthers and the Cincinnati Bengals have 18 apiece, while the San Francisco 49ers have just 16.
“Probably the best player that there is at that position. And he’s proved that game in and game out,” Ward said about Garrett. “So we’ve got to do our job of not letting him affect the game each and every play. Try to keep a lid on it, and just got to continue to execute our plays and just try to execute up and down the field.”
The only two quarterbacks who have taken more sacks than Ward this season didn’t fare well against Garrett. Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith was sacked four times as the Browns totaled 10 sacks — their second most in a game since 1982 — during Cleveland’s 24-10 road win on Nov. 23. Garrett set a team record when he took down Drake Maye five times in Cleveland’s 32-13 road loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 26.
If Garrett gets four sacks Sunday, he would be the first player in NFL history with three games with at least four in a season. He has had at least one sack in each of his four career games against the Titans, including 3 1/2 in 2023.
Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said a team allowing the most sacks doesn’t drastically change the game plan.
“When the focus is on, not necessarily the number of sacks that they’ve given up, and when we look at film, a lot of times you’re looking at games that you think are similar or closer to where you’re playing, so maybe you don’t even see all those things,” he said. “I’d say this, like, when our D-line creates pressure, tackles for losses, just wreaks havoc, we’re at our best, and we need those guys to do that for us, not just in the pass game, but in the run game here also.”
Ward has been pressured on 37.5% of his dropbacks. The Browns are fourth in the league with a 38.9% pressure rate.
Even though the Browns are assured of their 23rd losing season since 1999, Garrett is still trying to maintain the same focus.
“We’ve got to continue to fight to win. Whoever’s our next opponent, they’re going to get our very best and let the chips fall as they may,” he said. “I can’t worry about how the end result’s going to be. Just worry about giving it your very best every play.”
The Titans are the NFL’s only one-win team, putting them on pace to land the No. 1 overall pick for a second straight season. They’ve lost seven straight games and need a victory in Cleveland to avoid matching the fewest wins in a full season since 1973.
The idea of landing the No. 1 pick to trade back for more talent to help Ward, this year’s top pick, in 2026 is not something the Titans want to entertain with five games left.
“I can tell you no one in this building is talking about the No. 1 pick, and that’s outside noise, and we try to block outside noise out,” Simmons said. “Right now we are trying to find out how to win another game, get win number two of the season.”
Meanwhile, Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders will be looking for his first home win after the Browns struggled in last week’s 26-8 loss to San Francisco.
While he has thrown behind the line on 24.6% of his attempts, the highest for a Browns quarterback this season, Sanders also has four 30-plus-yard completions in two starts compared to two by Cleveland quarterbacks in the first 11 games this year.
Even though Sanders and Ward trained together during the draft, he doesn’t view this matchup as personal.
“I’m just playing against another opponent,” Sanders said. “It’s another week. We face great quarterbacks every week. This doesn’t add anything.”
Simmons said he knows Sanders keeps plays alive by running around. Simmons isn’t really concerned with Sanders right now because he has a bigger challenge.
“My job is to have my quarterback’s back. I think we can help Cam out,” Simmons said. “When you look at all stats on defense, we haven’t had nothing but one strip-sack all year. It’s like, how can we get Cam in better position?”
The Titans held the Jacksonville Jaguars to five three-and-out possessions last week but couldn’t force a turnover.
Tennessee has been getting to quarterbacks, too, with three sacks last week for its fifth such game in the past six. The Titans have 21 sacks since the seventh week, tying them for the fourth most in the NFL in that span. Yet they have only 10 combined takeaways, with five interceptions and five fumbles recovered.