CINCINNATI — Jim Schwartz tried to warn the rest of the NFL in June: Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was coming for the crown.

After dreaming he fell short, Garrett claimed the single-season record with his 23rd sack on Sunday afternoon and cemented his place among the great pass rushers in league history.

Garrett had to wait until the final moments of the season finale to set the NFL sack record on first down with Joe Burrow and the Bengals on Cleveland’s half of the field. Garrett said he knew the snap count, and NFL Next Gen Stats clocked his time from stance to stride at a season-best 0.23 seconds. His average according to the league analytics resource is 0.70.

“Probably the best get-off I ever had,” Garrett said.

Left one-on-one against Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown and aligned in the unique “Wide 9” rush lane well to Brown’s left in the formation, Garrett shot off the ball with such urgency that Brown briefly paused. He reacted as if he expected Garrett to be flagged for being offside. Feeling the pocket collapse, Burrow went to the ground before Garrett got there to drop him for the third time this season.

Garrett now has 125.5 career sacks since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2017 by the Browns.

This is the first time he’s ended a season as the league leader in sacks, and the seventh time a season will end without a playoff game. According to the Browns, Cleveland has a record of 54-79-1 in games Garrett has played for the franchise.

“You know, he’s the best at what he does, and you try to mitigate that as much as you can with your play calls, your protection plan and then how your quarterback plays,” Burrow said. “I thought we were pretty good against him today, but you can see how impactful he is,” Burrow explained. “We have no help on him one time and he gets one.”

All of the losing during his career prompted Garrett to request a trade out of Cleveland in March.

When general manager Andrew Berry denied the request and instead went to the negotiating table, Garrett returned to the team after signing a four-year, $160 million contract extension. Before training camp, Schwartz, Cleveland’s defensive coordinator, predicted a new level of greatness from Garrett.

“I really think Myles is going to have the best season of his career and has to, right?” Schwartz said. “I’ve told him before, what’s that Spider-Man quote? ‘With great power comes great responsibility,'” Schwartz said. “That’s with the big contract, with the notoriety that came along with that, with the process that took to get him to that point.

“There’s always pressure in this league, but probably a little bit more so. And I think that that brings out the best in players, and I know that’ll be the case with Myles.”

Garrett built a resume worthy of his second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2025 with five sacks against the New England Patriots and three games with three sacks.

With 5:04 left in the fourth quarter, Garrett jumped into the backfield and Burrow hit the turf for what was recorded as Garrett’s 23rd sack this season. The Cleveland sideline rushed onto the field to congratulate Garrett, delaying the game.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was perturbed the game was stopped to mark the historic takedown. He said officials never warned of the possible delay before the game.

“There was five minutes left in our season, we are playing for our lives here. I was never told that we’re going to stop the game,” Taylor said.

Andre Szmyt, who missed a short field goal and an extra point against Cincinnati in the season opener, won the game with a 49-yard field goal as time expired. By contrast, Cincinnati kicker Evan McPherson missed a pair of extra points that turned out to be the difference.

Week 18 ended with Garrett being carried on the shoulders of celebrating teammates.

Garrett entered Week 18 needing one-half sack to tie the NFL mark for sacks in a single season shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. Strahan had 22 sacks in 2001, when the regular season was only 16 games. Watt tied the record in 2021. But Garrett got the record on his 437th snap of the season. Strahan recorded No. 22.5 on his 567th snap and Watt needed 616.

Bruce Smith is the all-time leader in sacks with 200 and Reggie White had 198.

–Field Level Media