CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Browns’ defensive side, Myles Garrett, called his chance to enter the biggest game of his life, predicting he will have a big divisional playoff game against current Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“Absolutely,” he said on Friday. “This must be the game to do that. One of the best teams in the league, if not the best in the league, but they have to go in there and they have to prove it, and we have to prove that we can battle anyone ”.
Garrett, who finished 6th in the NFL with 12 sacks, has not had a monster game since returning from an absence of two games with COVID-19. In his six lap games, he managed just 2.5 sacks and no forced fumble. He has been kept bagless in each of the last two games, and has not forced a fumble in his last eight games, after forcing four in his first seven.
He grew stronger each week, but has undergone weekly respiratory treatments since his return and admitted a coughing fit in the locker room after the Giants game. Last week in Pittsburgh, he was on the field for 74 defensive snaps – 82% of the total. With Olivier Vernon out for the season with a broken Achilles tendon, the Steelers doubled Garrett in almost every move.
“I was very tired after the last game, knowing that they played the ball more than 60 times and I was a double in most of them, ” he said. “It definitely costs you a lot during the game to have to fight several people. You just need to know that your time will come. I got close a few times, but as I said before, I am due. “
His timing can really be good, despite Mahomes’ bizarre athletics. Ten of Mahomes’ 22 sacks this season came in the last five games, including three in Dolphin Week 14 and four in Santos Week 15. Mahomes won both games, but also launched three interceptions against the Dolphins – after launching just two in his previous 12 games.
In addition, Mahomes has lost four times in his last five games and lost twice after failing only once in the previous ten games. He also released four of his six interceptions in his last three games, which means he was trending in the wrong direction before pulling out the season finale and then saying goodbye last week as number one. When he enters the field, it will have been 21 days since he last played.
But still, he is Patrick Mahomes, the former NFL MVP, reigning in the Super Bowl MVP, No. 3 QB ranked in the NFL with a rating of 108.2, and arguably the best NFL quarterback.
“He’s considered the face of the league now,” said Garrett. “He’s there with (Rams DT) Aaron Donald as the two faces that people see as the best in attack and defense. I want him to be able to go home when he has his son or children and tell them it was against Myles Garrett. It’s not just me against him – it’s the Browns against the Chiefs – but individually, I like to leave an impression on everyone I’m against ”.
Garrett, who has known Mahomes since they were preparation stars in Texas, knows the track and field he is facing.
“The guy is great with his feet and is great playing outside the race,” said Garrett. “He can make plays anywhere on the pitch, so we have to be prepared for that. Don’t jump on those fake balls. If you try to hit it, make it clean and try to get the ball out of it. The best place to be on the field with Patrick is with the ball in our hands instead of him, because he is great with that. “
The admiration is mutual.
“I have known Myles for a long time, being in high school and believe me, he was exactly the same size at school as he is now, so I’m glad I didn’t play with him back then, but he is an incredible player, he plays very hard and he has a lot of talent, ” Mahomes said at his news conference on Wednesday. “They have talent throughout the defense and, therefore, for us, it is about executing at a high level, getting the ball out of my hands as I said and letting the boys play and we will have to play our best football if we want to win one football game at the end of the day. “
Garrett, who fired Mahomes once in the Chiefs’ 37-21 victory over the Browns in 2018, will be ready for exceptionally deep QB takedowns and handing in all angles of arms to names like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
“He is misleading with his deep fall,” said Garrett. “He does this because he has the arm to compensate, but he also falls backwards and rises another two or three meters so that you bend almost at a hook angle to get back to him. You really have to anticipate what he is going to do.
“You can’t always think he’s going to take a step back because he takes a shallow step or he takes a step up, so you have to be ready to fight back or push one of the other three or two guys in the line. He has his own style and I think we are prepared. “
Mahomes, who launched 38 touchdowns against just six interceptions en route to his 14-1 mark this season, is so good that no one gives the Browns much of a chance. The bosses welcome Sammy Watkins, who is out of this game due to a calf injury, tweeted “I wouldn’t go that far” about the Browns providing competition, and Steelers receiver Chase Claypool said on Monday that the Browns “will clap” “from the Chiefs.
“You have to prove yourself every day,” said Garrett. “No team and no individual person was treated or held in high regard until they proved it every time they came. We just have to register the point and show what we are worth every time we are asked. Every time these lights are on and we are on the field, we have to show that we are a great team. Here’s another opportunity to show that. “
Not even the Browns jumping to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter over the Steelers last week and beating them 48-37 on national television was enough to convince most people that the Browns can upset the Chiefs.
“It’s just a game,” he said. “It takes more than one ride. We have to keep proving it, not only for them, but for ourselves. We have to make it a routine, like the Patriots dynasty. The guys just assumed they were winning every time they looked at the schedule. We have to have that same kind of mentality here. “
The important thing, of course, is that they believe in themselves.
“We are here, we might as well be great,” he said. “Nobody is excited about just getting a ticket to the ball. Like I said, you want to dance with the pretty girl. You want to shoot, and the worst she can say is no. As long as you go out there and give your best shot, you will be proud of the result, but we are not satisfied until we see how far we can get. “
As the Browns marched towards their 11-5 finish, they became increasingly confident to the point that they believed they could win the Super Bowl.
“I don’t think you would go on the field unless you believed in yourself,” he said. “You don’t get here doubting yourself, your ability and your teammates, especially in the playoffs. These guys believe in themselves because they have proven time and again that they deserve to be here. As long as you are here, you can go as far as you want, as long as you put the job and get ready. “
As good as Mahomes is, Garrett hopes that Baker Mayfield “does things for Baker. Be the gunslinger as he has been. He will make those special moves with his feet and he will make those big shots. Now, he’s hot. It just has to be something he continues, obviously. “
Garrett also knows how much that game means to Kareem Hunt, who lost a Super Bowl last year to the Chiefs.
“He wants to go back to the stadium and the team that called him,” he said. “He wants to make a great game, but he wants to win. I think any of us would like to do that. We will try to do our best to win the game, not only for him, but for us and the city.
“This is for everyone involved, not just one person. It is definitely in our hearts and in our mind, but I know he will be focused on the task at hand. He’s not going to do anything out of the ordinary. He will play his game and we will play together and we will play solid football so that we can get the job done and, at the end of the day, we can all achieve what we want. “
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