Cleveland Browns: 6 Studs and Duds from heartbreaking Divisional Round loss
By Sam Penix
Stud: Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett played his heart out on Sunday. He’s been dealing with COVID-19 complications since Week 13 and has suffered ankle and shoulder injuries this season, preventing him from playing a the elite level we’re used to seeing from him. He then suffered an oblique injury in the third quarter which essentially made him a situational pass rusher from then on. Garrett logged only two tackles on the day, but they were both impactful.
He caught up to the speedy Mecole Hardman 42 yards down the field in the first quarter and then sacked Chad Henne to set up a 3rd and 14 with just over two minutes remaining. What happened next wasn’t pretty, but Garrett was the reason the Browns were in an advantageous position at that point.
He added two more QB hits and affected multiple Patrick Mahomes pass plays with pressure. No one else on the team was able to generate pressure; Ronnie Harrison Jr. had the only other QB hit, and defensive coordinator Joe Woods couldn’t afford to blitz too often because he had a devastating skill position group to worry about and needed all the coverage he could find.
It wasn’t enough, but Garrett fought through pain and fatigue and gave the team everything he had.