Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett is entering Week 17 with 22 sacks on the season, one sack away from breaking the single-season record. While Garrett wants to shatter the record anyway he can, he has been open about wanting to do it in 16 games, and how it will also be nice to have that moment come in a win at home. Considering that he has recorded a sack in 12 of the team’s 15 games this season, he will likely accomplish both of those goals on Sunday.
The Browns' opponent this week is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who could also add to the story of Garrett’s record-setting moment. The quarterback being sacked will always be part of the story, and featured in all the replays. Going against Pittsburgh, Garrett’s memorable moment could be with Aaron Rodgers, another future Hall of Famer.
There's a chance, however, that Rodgers doesn't even play in Sunday’s game.
If the Baltimore Ravens lose to the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night at Lambeau Field, the Steelers will be AFC North champions. If that happens, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said the team could decide to rest some key players. That would mean Mason Rudolph would be in at quarterback for the Steelers, which would add an entirely new element to Garrett’s record-setting moment.
If the Packers beat the Ravens Saturday, then Pittsburgh wins the AFC North and, in theory, could rest some key players vs. Browns. Perhaps 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers takes a seat.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 23, 2025
And then Myles Garrett could set the sack record against Mason Rudolph.
Myles Garrett’s record-setting sack could come against Mason Rudolph
Garrett and Rudolph will forever be linked after the infamous brawl between the Browns and Steelers in a 2019 Thursday Night Football game. The two were at the center of the brawl, after Garrett took Rudolph down to the ground after a pass. While on the ground, the quarterback grabbed the defender’s helmet, and Garrett grabbed Rudolph’s helmet while getting up. Garrett was able to rip Rudolph’s helmet off, before swinging it and hitting the charging quarterback in the head.
A quick mixup between both teams followed, and Garrett was ultimately ejected, and indefinitely suspended by the NFL. The defender alleged that Rudolph called him a racial slur, and the quarterback denied that allegation, calling Garrett a liar. Since then, the two have moved past the incident and continued on with their careers.
Six years later, it’s a moment that’s still fresh in the minds of NFL fans, and a moment that would certainly be resurfaced if Rudolph is the quarterback who Garrett sacks to set the new single-season sack record. That would be a wild twist to Garrett’s historic season, but somewhat of a storybook moment since Rudolph is already the quarterback he’s forever connected to.