Myles Garrett appears to be taking matters into his own hands after the Cleveland Browns‘ 1-3 start to the season.
The Browns have struggled to find their rhythm early this season, with the defense failing to live up to last year’s dominant performance as the league’s top unit. Garrett, with four sacks through four games, knows he can be better and is determined to set the tone for the rest of the defense.
“I’m tired of getting kicked in the teeth, so I’m going to make sure that we’re all on the same page,” Garrett said this week. “We’re tired of getting punched in the mouth, we’re tired of losing, so we’ve got to get this right from the jump. We got to play 60 minutes of great ball, and there can’t be any lulls. It’s going to be that way on Sunday.”
In Week 4, the Browns gave up 268 yards in a 20-16 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Despite missing star wide receiver Davante Adams, the Raiders’ previously ineffective run game came alive, amassing 152 rushing yards.
Browns Face Stiff Test Against Commanders, Jayden Daniels
The Browns will look to turn things around this week against the Washington Commanders and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. He’s made an early impact and has posted the highest completion percentage (82.1) of any NFL quarterback through his first four games.
Garrett knows the key to slowing down Daniels and the Commanders — who have reeled off three wins in a row — is pressure.
“Lots of pressure. It doesn’t have to be blitzes or five-man, six-man pressure. Four-man has to get pressure on him down the middle and make him uncomfortable to step into those throws and those easy alleys while you’re pulling,” Garrett said. “Get those hands up, get those easy PBUs, but don’t stop rushing. Can’t allow us to start hopping up and allow him to escape the pocket, but on the way to getting to him start to tip some of those passes that he’s trying to throw quick and continue to wrestle him when he’s willing to hold the ball.”
Myles Garrett Feeling Better Amid Injury Issues
Garrett has been battling nagging foot injuries this season, which limited him against the Raiders. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has played on just 69% of snaps this season, which would be a career low.
Fortunately, Garrett said he’s feeling improved heading into the critical Week 5 affair.
“Actually, this week has been a really great week for me as far as recovering and managing a lot of this pain,” Garrett said. “This is probably the best I’ve felt since last year. I’m really starting feel myself again and turning in the right direction.”
The Browns did receive some rough news this week, with defensive end Alex Wright being placed on injured reserve with a triceps injury.
Wright had eight sacks and a sack before the injury. His lone sack was a notable one, forcing a game-changing safety against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the Browns’ lone win of the season.
It’s tough news for the Browns but they still have Garrett, Za’Darius Smith and Ogbo Okoronkwo as pass-rusher threats.
J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote
