Steelers Too Busy Guarding Garrett, Browns Sneak Away With a Shock Win

On a chilly Cleveland night that felt part football game and part reality show, Myles Garrett didn’t break the sack record, but his Cleveland Browns definitely broke the Steelers’ game plan. The Browns pulled off a 13–6 upset, and Garrett believes there was a very specific reason behind it. According to him, Pittsburgh was more obsessed with stopping him than actually trying to win the game. And honestly, that sounds like the kind of overthinking that usually ends badly.

After the final whistle, Garrett didn’t exactly whisper his thoughts. With the confidence of a man who knows he just lived rent free in the opponent’s head, he suggested that the Steelers made him their top priority and forgot about, you know, the whole “win the football game” part.

#Browns DE Myles Garrett on the #Browns win vs. the #Steelers:

“They were more worried about keeping me away from Aaron (Rodgers) than getting the win. That’s what came back to bite them.” pic.twitter.com/EOsLNkj9Oj
— Ashly Holder (@AshNoelleTV) December 28, 2025

And the numbers kind of back him up. Garrett was constantly double-teamed, chipped by running backs, and bumped by tight ends like he was the last slice of pizza at a party. Despite all that attention, he finished with only two pressures on 43 pass-rush snaps and zero sacks. For Garrett, that was unusual, since this was the first time since Week 6 that he didn’t record at least half a sack. But here’s the funny part: even when he was quiet statistically, his presence still changed the entire game.

Right now, Garrett sits at 22 sacks for the season, just half a sack away from breaking the NFL record of 22.5, shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt. He didn’t get closer on Sunday, but he’ll have one last chance in Week 18 against the Cincinnati Bengals. That matchup is especially juicy because Garrett had two sacks against them back in Week 1. If there’s a perfect setup for a dramatic, record-breaking finale, this is it.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are left dealing with the consequences of their Garrett obsession. Their loss to Cleveland sets up a winner-take-all showdown against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 18. In other words, if they don’t win, their playoff dreams go poof. That makes this Browns loss sting even more, because instead of focusing on beating Cleveland, they might have spent too much energy trying to keep Garrett from writing his name into the record books.

In the end, Myles Garrett didn’t get his historic sack, but he still managed to dominate the story. Sometimes in football, you don’t have to touch the quarterback to win the psychological battle. And on this night, Garrett did exactly that while the Browns quietly walked away with a huge win.