One of the clear bright spots for the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 season was Myles Garrett. Despite Cleveland’s offensive incompetence not leading to the team regularly having leads throughout the year, the Browns' defense was making its presence felt, largely behind the efforts of Garrett.
Despite coming into the season having signed a massive extension after essentially reneging on a trade request, Garrett quickly shut down any questions about possible drop in production. Garrett was dominant all year for Cleveland, as he had yet another incredible season and capped it off by resetting the NFL single-season sack record.
Garrett notched his 23rd sack in Cleveland’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday in Week 18, and what’s even more impressive was his efficiency in how he registered those sacks. As Scott Sargent of WFNY pointed out recently, Garrett took 437 snaps to post those 23 sacks; that was far less than that of the prior two single-season sack record holders in TJ Watt and Michael Strahan (previously tied).
Snaps required for each sack record:
— Scott (@WFNYScott) January 4, 2026
Myles Garrett (23): 437
TJ Watt (22.5): 616
Michael Strahan (22.5): 567
Garrett's accomplishment was nothing short of extraordinary for the Browns.
Garrett didn’t have a sack in Cleveland’s Week 17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it did take him the full current allotment of 17 games to break the single-season sack record. At first glance, that’s what many will point to.
Regardless, Garrett made history, and when factoring in the snap count he took to post that sack total, it fully substantiates the achievement all the more. Garrett recorded a sack every 19 snaps on average in 2025, while being double-teamed over and over and over again, and there were even triple teams in some instances.
Garrett’s combination of strength and power, combined with his ridiculous get-off made him nightmarish to keep away from quarterbacks for opposing offenses. Knowing one is going to face him is never a day at the beach for opposing offensive linemen, and that’s been the case for quite some time.
According to @NextGenStats, Myles Garrett had a get-off of 0.23 seconds on his record-breaking sack.
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) January 4, 2026
To put that in context, his average get-off is 0.70 sec, which leads the league.
That's the fastest time recorded by any player on any sack this year.
Absolute alien.
In Garrett’s record-setting 2025, he had four games with at least two sacks, and had a whopping five and four QB takedowns against the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens. Cleveland lost both of those games, but that doesn’t take away from how dominant Garrett himself was in those contests.
Overall, the record and production is one thing for Garrett, but it's especially noteworthy in a season when Cleveland as a group won five games. That didn't lead to a ton of straight pass rush opportunities, considering the lack of regular game time where Cleveland had leads.
The Browns' offense had its woes regularly in the 2025 campaign, which largely led to Kevin Stefanski's firing (after a disappointing 2024 season as well), however, that shouldn't take away from Garrett being arguably the NFL's top defensive player once again. And the now NFL single-season record holder continues to add to an already Hall of Fame resume.