CLEVELAND, Ohio – Browns’ defensive division Myles Garrett has called his shot in the biggest game of his life and predicts he will have a giant division game against reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“Absolutely,” he said Friday. “It has to be the game to do that. One of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league, but they have to go in there and they have to prove it, and we have to prove that we can fight with anyone. ”
Garrett, who finished No. 6 in the NFL with 12 pockets, has not had a monster game since returning from a two-game absence with COVID-19. In his six games back, he managed just 2.5 bags and no forced fouls. He has been kept pocketless in each of the last two games and has not struggled in his last eight heats after forcing four in his first seven.
He got stronger every week, but since his return he has undergone weekly breathing treatments and admitted a coughing fit in the locker room after the Giants game. Last week in Pittsburgh he had 74 defensive shots on the field – 82% of the total. With Olivier Vernon for the season with a broken Achilles tendon, the Steelers double Garrett on almost every play.
“I was really tired after the last game because I knew they threw the ball 60 times and that I teamed up with the majority of the two times,” he said. ‘It definitely requires you to fight against several people during the match. You just have to be more discriminating with the help you render toward other people. I have come close a few times, but as I have said before, I am indebted. “
His timing may be good despite Mahomes’ freak athletics. Ten of Mahomes’ 22 pockets this season come in the last five games, including three in Week 14 by the Dolphins and four in Week 15 by the Saints. Mahomes has won both games, but he has also thrown three interceptions against the Dolphins – after throwing just two in his previous twelve games.
In addition, Mahomes has fumbled four times in his last five games and lost two, having fumbled just once in his previous ten games. He has also thrown four of his six interceptions in his last three games, meaning he has turned in the wrong direction before kicking off the season finale and saying goodbye last week. By the time he takes the field, it will be 21 days since he last played.
But still, he’s Patrick Mahomes, the former NFL MVP, reigning Super Bowl MVP, QB in the NFL with the No. 3 ranking, with a 108.2 rating, and probably the best quarterback in the NFL.
“He is currently considered the face of the league,” Garrett said. ‘He goes right up there with (Rams DT) Aaron Donald as the two faces that people consider the best in attack and defense. I wish he could go home if he has a child or children and tell them he’s against Myles Garrett. It’s not just me versus him – it’s the Browns versus the Chiefs – but individually I want to make an impression on everyone I face. ‘
Garrett, who has been known to Mahomes since they were prep stars in Texas, knows the athletics he is dealing with.
“The man is great with his feet, and he’s great at throwing off the fly,” Garrett said. ‘He can make plays in any part of the field, so we have to be prepared for that. Do not jump for the ballfake. If you shoot him, clean it up and try to take the ball away from him. The best place to be on the field with Patrick is with the ball in our hands instead of him, because he’s great with it. ”
The admiration is mutual.
‘I have known Myles for a long time while I was in high school and trust me he was exactly the same size in high school as now, so I’m glad I didn’ t play him then, but he’s a great player, plays extremely hard and has a lot of talent, ” Mahomes said at his press conference on Wednesday. ‘They have talent in the whole defense, so for us it’s about high level execution, to get the ball out of my hands, like I said, and let guys play, and we’ll have to play our best football . if we want to win a football match at the end of the day. ”
Garrett, who once sacked Mahomes in the Chiefs’ 37-21 win over the Browns in 2018, will be ready for the QB’s extraordinary deep setbacks and delivery from every corner like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
“He’s deceptive with his deep relapse,” Garrett said. ‘He does it because he has the arm to compensate for it, but he also drops so far back and then walks up another two or three meters so that you bend nicely under a fishing angle to get back to him. You really have to expect what he’s going to do.
‘You can not always think that he is going to step back deeply, because he is stepping shallow or he is stepping up, so you have to be ready to return or to get one of the other three guys or two guys going. He has his own style, and I think we are prepared. ”
Mahomes, who has hit 38 times at just six interceptions this season at his 14-1 point, is so good that no one gives the Browns that much of a chance. Chiefs host Sammy Watkins, who ruled out the game with a calf injury, tweeted “I would not go that far” over the Browns competition, and Steelers receiver Chase Claypool said Monday the Browns will be through the Chiefs “slapped”.
“You have to prove day by day what you’re worth,” Garrett said. ‘No team and no individual was treated individually or highly regarded, until they proved it every time. We just have to check in and show what we are worth every time we are asked. Every time those lights burn and we are on the field, we have to show that we are an excellent team. Here is another opportunity to show it. ‘
Not even the Browns who jumped 28-0 on the Steelers lead last week and then beat them 48-37 on national television was enough to convince most people that the Browns could upset the Chiefs.
“It’s just one game,” he said. ‘It takes more than one outing. We must continue to prove it, not only to them, but also to ourselves. We need to make it routine, like the Patriots dynasty. Guys just assumed they would win every time they looked at the schedule. We need to get the same kind of mentality here. ”
The important thing, of course, is that they believe in themselves.
“We’re here, we might as well be wonderful,” he said. ‘Nobody’s excited about just getting a ticket for the dance. Like I said, you want to dance with the pretty girl. You want to shoot your shot, and the worst she can say is no. As long as you go out there and take your best chance, you will be proud of the result, but we are not satisfied until we see how far we can get. ”
As the Browns marched to their 11-5 series, they became more and more confident to the point that they now believe they can win the Super Bowl.
“I do not think you will step on the field unless you believe in yourself,” he said. ‘You do not come here to doubt yourself, your ability and your teammates, especially not in the play-off rounds. These guys believe in themselves because they have proven time and time again that they deserve to be here. As long as you are here, you can go as far as you want, as long as you put in the work and prepare. ”
As good as Mahomes is, Garrett expects Baker Mayfield to “do things from Baker. Be the armed man as he was. He’s going to make those special plays with his feet and he’s going to throw the big time. At the moment he is hot. It just has to keep going, of course. ‘
Garrett also knows how much this game means to Kareem Hunt, who missed a Super Bowl with the Chiefs last year.
“He wants to go back to the stadium and the team that lined him up,” he said. “He wants a great game, but he wants to win. I think one of us would want to do that. We’re going to try our best to win the match, not only for him, but also for us and for the city.
“It’s involved for everyone, not just one person. It is definitely in our hearts and in our minds, but I know he will be focused on the task. He’s not going to do anything extraordinary. He’s going to play his game, and we’re going to play together and we’ll play good football, so we can do the job, and at the end of the day we can all achieve what we want. ‘
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