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Myles Garrett breaks NFL single-season sack record in Week 18 vs. Bengals

Meby: Nick Geddes01/04/26NickGeddesNews

NFL history now belongs to Myles Garrett. The Cleveland Browns defensive end broke the league’s single-season sack record Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Garrett sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter to secure the record.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker TJ Watt previously shared the record with 22.5 sacks. Strahan set the record in 2001, and he stood alone until 2021 when Watt tied him. Strahan was rooting for Garrett throughout the chase.

“There’s nobody like Myles Garrett. I am truly hoping he breaks the sack record,” Strahan said in November on FOX NFL Sunday. “I was thinking about this, Lawrence Taylor is the best defensive player I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. But I think this kid is close, in my opinion. I think he’s better than Reggie White, I think he’s better than my guy Bruce Smith, myself — this guy is something else.

“He needs five sacks to break this record; I think he’s gonna crush the record. He has 13 sacks in four games; I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.”

Myles Garrett writes name into NFL record book

Garrett stands alone and still has time to add to his tally. He got off to a slow start this season but hit a new gear in the middle of the season. From Week 8 to Week 12 — a span of four games — Garrett compiled 13.0 sacks.

Even as the Browns have struggled to win games, Garrett has continued to be a dominant force coming off the edge. Even before setting the record, Garrett had long cemented himself as one of the best pass rushers in NFL history. Still in the prime of his career, it’s fair to wonder how far Garrett can climb up the all-time sacks list.

As for the single-season record, Garrett never doubted it would happen. It was always a matter of what number he would finish with.

“I don’t even think about it as a want — I just think about something that I’m going to knock down,” Garrett said. “It’s already been written in my mind that it’s going just how far I’m going to take it. So, just going to go out there and do what I do, and whatever number I end up at.”