Sean McDermott comes from a defensive background, so his appreciation for Myles Garrett’s historic 2025 season carries some added weight.
McDermott’s Buffalo Bills have a lot at stake entering their Week 16 game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. A slip-up would almost certainly cost the Bills their slim chances of winning the AFC East division title. Sunday’s matchup also checks every box for a potential letdown, with Buffalo coming off a monster win over the New England Patriots, and the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles waiting on deck in Week 17.
No one’s expecting the Browns to give the Bills much of a challenge this week. Their lineup has been decimated by injuries, especially along the offensive line. Their special teams ranks among the worst in NFL history. Even the defense, led by Garrett, Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite Carson Schwesinger, and veteran cornerback Denzel Ward, has been leaky, surrendering 88 combined points to the Titans, 49ers, and Bears in recent weeks (all losses).
Cleveland’s defense doesn’t get a lot of letdowns, however. Garrett’s tape keeps opposing coaches up at night, and McDermott certainly sounded like a man preparing for battle this week during his Wednesday sit-down with the local Buffalo media.
Sean McDermott didn’t hold back on facing Myles Garrett
Garrett and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen definitely have one thing in common. Opposing offenses scheme their entire game plan around containing No. 95, and the same goes for the Browns in trying to limit Allen, the NFL’s reigning MVP.
How McDermott, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and the Bills arrange those chess pieces around Garrett will be a fascinating aspect to Sunday’s game. Speaking Wednesday, McDermott said he’s seen teams chip Garrett with tight ends, and even triple team him in some situations, and Garrett “just runs through it all.”
“Special player. I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer. He’s on the verge of, what’s he need, two sacks or whatever, to break the record? That’s a hallmark type of season. So you turn the tape on, you’re watching crossover games, and Cleveland shows up, their defense, and overall they play hard. They’re talented. They’re talented up front, they’re talented on the back end, in particular, with the corner position. It’s a good combination. And then you watch (Garrett) and you go, ‘That’s special.’”
It’s only a matter of time before Garrett resets the NFL’s sack record. And he’ll almost certainly do it inside his home stadium of the past nine years. He enters Sunday with 21.5 sacks on the season, needing one to tie the current record of 22.5, held by both Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021), and 1.5 sacks to officially break the mark. If it doesn’t come against Buffalo, Garrett and the Browns will set their sights on Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers in their final home game of the season, in Week 17.
Sunday against the Bills does feel like a safe bet, though. Allen’s already been sacked 33 times this year — sixth-most in football — and Garrett enters this one with an eight-game sack streak, recording at least one full sack in all eight games, and more than one in half of them.
Browns fans have heard Garrett use the phrase “iron sharpens iron” many times throughout his career. If he could conjure up the perfect scenario in his mind, breaking the NFL’s sack record at home, against the MVP of the league, in a Browns win would be it.