Myles Garrett plays with pain, closes in on sack record

CHICAGO (AP) — On the brink of an NFL record, Myles Garrett is a little banged up.Garrett had 1 1/2 sacks in Cleveland's 31-3 loss at Chicago on Sunday. He's up to 21 1/2 on the year, just one shy of the single-season record with three games left.Garrett, who turns 30 on Dec. 29, said he tweaked something in his left hip or in that area, but he downplayed the significance of the issue."I was feeling that for the rest of the game, but like I said, I'm just going to continue to push through because still got something to play for," he said. "As long as there's games on the schedule, I'm going to go out there and try to win."Cleveland (3-11) has lost three in a row and six of seven. It is nearing the end of its second consecutive losing season, but Garrett thinks it's important to set the tone for the team's youngest players."With the young guys, showing them that it (doesn't) matter what the record is, what the score is, you've got to come out and be yourself," he said. "It didn't happen today, but teams have come back from worse."Garrett recorded his first sack of the day when he pulled down Caleb Williams on third-and-goal at the Cleveland 8 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half. That led to a missed 35-yard field goal by Cairo Santos.Williams became the 51st quarterback whom Garrett has sacked in his nine-year career.The 2023 AP Defensive Player of the Year joined defensive tackle Shelby Harris on a third-and-15 sack early in the fourth quarter, forcing Chicago to punt on a frigid afternoon at Soldier Field.Garrett has at least one sack in a career-best eight consecutive games. The stretch includes a team-record five in a 32-13 loss at New England on Oct. 26.The NFL record of 22 1/2 is shared by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan in 2001 and Pittsburgh's TJ Watt in 2021. The NFL did not start counting sacks as an official statistic until 1982."It's always been in sight," Garrett said of the record.Garrett was selected by Cleveland with the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft. The four-time All-Pro agreed to a four-year, $160 million contract extension in March.He had 14 sacks and 22 tackles for loss last season. He has 124 sacks for his career, moving into 21st place on the NFL list behind Dwight Freeney at 125 1/2.Garrett had four sacks in the first three games this season. Then he was shut out in losses to Detroit, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.Garrett broke out of his slump with a third-down sack of Miami's Tua Tagovailoa in the third quarter of Cleveland's 31-6 victory Oct. 19.He had 13 sacks in a span of four games from Oct. 26 to Nov. 23. The torrid stretch began with his performance against the Patriots, and it included four sacks against Baltimore and three against Las Vegas.The post Myles Garrett plays with pain, closes in on sack record first appeared on BrownsZone with Scott Petrak.