BEREA — The possibility of breaking one of the NFL’s most hallowed records came to Myles Garrett in a nighttime vision.
On Sunday, he can bring it to light.
Four from history, Garrett said Friday that 25 sacks in a season has been on his things-to-do list for some time.
“I set that goal about three years ago for myself,” said Garrett, who enters this week’s game against the lowly Tennessee Titans (1-11) with 19 sacks. “I had a dream where I had that written on my tape and I was going to get 25. I felt like that was just meant to be.”
And so it is written.
As the record of 22.5 sacks, first set by Michael Strahan (2001) and equaled by T.J. Watt (2021) has gotten closer, Garrett hasn’t been shy about his desire to not only break the existing mark but set a new, unreachable number.
For everyone — except him.
“Well,” said Garrett, who has printed “25” on the white athletic tape wrapped around his right wrist on gamedays in 2025. “After 25, I’m just going to write something else.”
There’s no telling what Garrett is capable of doing. And these days, no one is doubting a single aspect of the four-time All-Pro.
With 15 sacks in his last six games, he’s playing at a level rarely seen in pro football, or any other sport for that matter.
Like LeBron James in cleats and shoulder pads.
Dominant doesn’t even come close to describing Garrett’s level in his ninth season. The 29-year-old has pushed his game to new heights. He’s leading the league in sacks, tackles for loss and unending praise from teammates, opponents and coaches.
He’s toying with offensive linemen during this reign of terror.
“The best to ever do it,” 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams said after exchanging body blows with Garrett last week.
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Garrett has indeed been a sight to behold.
He’s beaten double and triple teams with stupefying regularity to reach quarterbacks. He’s overpowered would-be blockers with brute force and even expanded his “bag” by incorporating basketball moves to better utilize his elite speed.
Last week, he went around a Niners blockade with a Euro-step, looking like NBA star Luka Doncic in the foul lane.
An avid hoops fan who considered the hardwood route as a career before choosing football — “I figured basketball’s not good on my knees and I’m better at it than basketball currently,” he said — Garrett said his b-ball skills have come in handy.
“It’s intentionally basketball-related,” he said. “As far as those moves, like jumping through a double team on the basketball court, it’s like jumping through a gap on a football field and the jab step is like a jab-cross and all those things kind of translate over.
“Now the physicality is a little different, but when you get in that open space and you’re able to clear the dance floor, it’s time to make the move.”
The Titans are next on his dance card, and by far the easiest team the Browns (3-9) will face over the season’s final five weeks.
Tennessee has had problems protecting rookie QB Cam Ward, who has been sacked a league-high 48 times and could become a trivia question if Garrett gets to him four times.
“I’ll go for four, right?” Garrett said after practice when asked if the record could fall this weekend. “But I respect that team over there and what they can do. So I’ve got to make sure we stop the run and earn four opportunities, which that can make that happen.”
Like every other coach, Tennessee’s Mike McCoy has spent part of this week devising ways to keep No. 95 away from his QB.
Garrett, though, is uncontainable.
“Unbelievable player,” said McCoy, who in his 24th NFL season. “What he’s done every snap, you’ve got to know where he is. You’ve got to have presence for him. He’s going to make a play or two, you see it all the time, and you just keep rolling. He’s playing at an MVP level, so high.”
With his next sack, Garrett will become just the eighth player to reach 20 in a season since 1982, when the league made sacks an official stat. Detroit’s Al “Bubba” Baker holds the unofficial record with 23 sacks in 1978, a mark Garrett could erase as well.
Strahan is rooting for him.
Earlier this week, the Hall of Famer and Fox TV analyst said Garrett is the closest player he’s seen to Lawrence Taylor. Strahan also believes Garrett will “crush” his record.
“Well, I’m glad he didn’t have the response Eric Dickerson had to Saquon (Barkley),” Garrett said, referring to Dickerson’s ambivalence toward his rushing record being broken in 2024. “Him being a friend of mine, it means a lot, and him wanting that for me and wanting the best for me is special.
“Hoping I can continue to chip away at it and knock it down, make him proud, make my family proud and continue just playing ball at a high level, help this team.”
Even if he doesn’t get the record this week, Garrett, who turns 30 on Dec. 29, will have four more games to take a run at it. He insists he’s not feeling any pressure and his sole focus is finding ways to help the Browns get a victory.
“I think y’all think about it a little bit more than I do,” he said to reporters. “And at the end of the day, I want to win most of all. If I get the record, I want it to be in a win and whatever it takes. If I get 25 or one or if I get none and we win, I’m just glad to have a win.”
Surely, though, Garrett has dreamed of the moment the record belongs to him.
Maybe it comes on a chase-down or with a QB spinning out of the pocket and into his grasp. Maybe he does it while stripping the ball and recovering the fumble.
Garrett has the record-breaker in mind. He won’t mind if it’s not perfect.
“I don’t care how it looks as long as I get it,” he said. “I want it to look like a game-winner.”
