The Browns’ success in Week 15 hinges on many variables, but no factor this week looms larger than the presence of Myles Garrett.
For Cleveland, a trip to Soldier Field lies ahead to face a Bears offense built around the improvisational talent of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams, a passer whose comfort level rises dramatically when the game breaks into chaos. That reality elevates Garrett from a standard impact defender to the central figure in Cleveland’s Week 15 plan, because sustained, disciplined, and suffocating pressure is a consistent and reliable way to keep Williams contained.
For one of the sport's all-time greats, Garrett enters Week 15 with 20 sacks, just 2.5 shy of the all-time single-season record held by both Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021). Four games remain, and all signs point toward a legitimate run at smashing the record. But for Cleveland, this week’s stakes extend beyond individual accolades.
Williams thrives when he’s allowed to extend plays, drift outside structure, and wait for receivers to uncover late. Chicago’s offense has been inconsistent at times, but Williams’ ability to weaponize second-reaction throws has kept series alive all campaign long.
For the Browns, it puts Garrett at the center of the game’s tension. His explosiveness off the edge is the obvious headline, yet what matters most against a stingy Chicago front five is how often he collapses the pocket before Williams can escape. While the Bears have been stout at four of the five spots up front this fall, they have struggled with length, speed-to-power, and anchor strength throughout the season at left tackle, and for Garrett, one of the league’s most advanced leverage manipulators, he thrives in that exact matchup profile.
Myles Garrett could control this entire game against Caleb Williams
Garrett's ability to win instantly, force early pocket movement, and drive quarterbacks off their spot is tailor-made for countering Williams’ creativity. And while Cleveland has to stress the interior as well, Garrett’s presence alone changes the geometry of every snap.
Slide protections toward him opens gaps elsewhere. Keep help in, and the Bears reduce the number of available receiving threats. Try to run away from him, and his backside pursuit often erases cutback lanes.
Every decision Chicago makes on offense starts with accounting for No. 95, and that alone dictates the game’s rhythm.
If Garrett is able to create consistent disruption, and that's all but a certainty (21 pressures the last three weeks), Williams will be forced into faster decisions, flatter pocket movement, and a level of structure that has not always suited him.
If not, the Browns run the risk of allowing both the on, and off-script fireworks that can flip momentum instantly.
As much as we can talk about scheme, personnel, and other headlining matchups, Week 15 comes down to Cleveland's truly generational sack artist to control the line of scrimmage. Garrett’s chase for the sack record may be historic, but this week specifically, it's also clearly Cleveland’s clearest path to an upset win.