It could be argued that, for Browns star pass-rusher Myles Garrett, the entirety of the 2025 season has been an internal conflict. He started the calendar year, of course, in the midst of a trade demand after a three-win season in 2024, seemingly eager to leave his Cleveland career behind after eight years to chase greener pastures elsewhere. For all the greatness achieved in his career, after all, he had been in just three playoff games, and won only one.
But the Browns were able to get him to stay put with a record-setting $40 million-per-year contract, a deal that helped catapult the team into producing one of the best defenses in the NFL here in 2025 and spurred Garrett to one of the greatest individual defensive seasons in league history. He now has 21.5 sacks this year, just one short of the all-time record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan.
Now, the conflict: The Browns are again a three-win team, with the worst offense in the NFL by far–according to PFF, their grade is 54.7 this year, a long way below the 62.5 posted by the Titans offense, which ranks No. 31.
Browns’ Myles Garrett Badly Wants a Win
That’s the battle Garrett has been fighting all year, being pleased at the performance of the defensive unit, especially the pass rush, and recognizing that he is at the top of his game as one of the best all-time, while also playing for a go-nowhere group.
Garrett was asked this week about chasing the record at home this week against the Bills, and whether there was some consolation that he could earn his spot in history in front of Cleveland fans who have had so little to cheer for this season.
But more important, he said, would be to actually do it in a win.
“Yeah, I want to get in front of the home fans,” he said. “Most of all, I want to get the win. You know, I don’t want it to be, you know, some emotional conflict between, you know, me getting it and we’re getting our tails whooped or you know, we’re down at the end of the game. So, I want to be able to share a joyous moment for everybody.”
Josh Allen a Special Challenge for the Browns
It would be an especially joyous moment for the Browns, who do have a win over the Packers to their credit this season. But the Bills are 10-4, have a three-game winning streak going and have league MVP Josh Allen in their huddle.
Allen is not an easy QB to tackle.
“The guy’s unbelievable and what he can do at the quarterback position and with the ball, in general,” Garrett said. “There’s no one like him, so it’ll be a fun matchup. He’s the reigning MVP for a reason, so we’ll have to stop him. We’ll have to stop that running game, and we’ll have to try and make him one dimensional, but, you know, that’s a hell of a dimension to have.”
GettyJosh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills will be the target for Browns star Myles Garrett as he hopes to set a new NFL sack record.
Myles Garrett Has No Regrets
Garrett has been careful not to reflect any regret about the decision to rescind his trade demand from the Browns and instead focus on making this group as good as possible. If he had known he would be playing for a 3-11 team 10 months ago, maybe he would have held out for a trade longer, even with the big-money offer from Cleveland.
He has not gotten into playing that game, though, at least not publicly.
“I am here. I’m happy to be here,” he said. “I’m happy to play in front of these fans who’ve supported me through everything, the seasons up and down. And just all the things that have gone on with my career and the Browns team in general for my last nine years, for them to still turn out and still support me and still want to be a part of this ride in general is special to me, and I’m hoping they still turn out and have energy and love for us as they always do.”
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