The Bears haven’t faced anyone this season like the Browns’ star defensive end.
“Myles Garrett is a monster,” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said.
“He’s a freak,” guard Teven Jenkins noted.
“He’s one of the [freakiest] of the freaks,” tight end Cole Kmet added.
If Garrett comes away with 2½ sacks in his 98th career game Sunday — and he has had almost double that against the Bears before — he’ll be just the third player since the sack became an official statistic in 1982 to reach 90 in fewer than 100 games. The others: Pro Football Hall of Famer Reggie White (82) and future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt (98).
Garrett does it with unique athleticism at a position that increasingly attracts some of the best athletes on the planet.
“Bending at the top of the rush like he’s not 280 [pounds], getting off the ball like he’s 230,” Bears defensive end Montez Sweat said. “Pretty [expletive] good.”
Pro Football Focus considers Garrett the second-best overall edge defender in the NFL. The Bears have faced others in the top five this year — Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, with ironman endurance and a rare motor, and former Bears linebacker Khalil Mack, now with the Chargers and still boasting elite brute strength.
But Garrett’s best trait is how he turns the corner at full speed while staying as low as possible. No one else can do that at 6-4, 272.
“His bend is just way different than anybody else’s,” Bears left tackle Braxton Jones said. “It’s how well he can still move from bending. Most guys attempt to bend and get pulled off the spot. . . . You’ve got to be flexible, you’ve got to be strong, and then you have to have the core strength to go through that moment.”
That athleticism allows the Browns to move Garrett all over the line — and beyond. He typically rushes from the right side but can move inside on obvious pass downs. He also has rushed from the inside linebacker spot, picking up a sack on a blitz in Week 1.
He has 13 sacks this season — although, for the first time this year, he has gone two consecutive games without one. After last Sunday’s win over the Jaguars, he called the officiating “awful,” claiming the Jaguars’ offensive line got away with holding, false starts and hands to the face.
“There’s nothing he can’t do,” Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. “He’s got every facet of a defensive lineman that you would want. The guy can play nose guard, three-technique, end. He can stand up and be an edge rusher, an outside linebacker. He’s got every trait that you really want. He’s a pretty incredible player.”
Getsy needs to come up with equally unique ways to deal with Garrett, whom PFF grades as the best pass rusher at his position. It’s not as simple as just rolling quarterback Justin Fields away from Garrett’s side of the field. Za’Darius Smith, who plays opposite Garrett, is ranked 15th.
Scheming against the blitz-happy Vikings late last month, Getsy had Fields throw shorter and quicker passes than at any point in his career. It was ugly and only led to four field goals, but the Bears won. Getsy doesn’t figure to go to such extremes Sunday, but Garrett’s versatility complicates things. Fields said the Bears have to plan around what Garrett does well, “which is pretty much everything.”
Fields has seen it up close. In Week 3 in 2021, Garrett sacked him 4½ times in a 26-6 blowout loss. The Browns finished with nine sacks. Fields finished with 1 net passing yard.
Garrett told reporters in Cleveland this week that he expects to see a different quarterback this time.
“[Fields] and that entire offense has evolved — his timing, his pocket presence, figuring out when he needs to run and he needs to pass,” Garrett said. “Looking at his reads, if he doesn’t see it, he’s going to use his legs. Last time we played, he was trying to stay in the pocket . . . and now he kind of has that feel.”
When Fields runs, Garrett said, he reminds him of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. But Garrett also seemed aware of one of Fields’ major weaknesses: Since the start of last season, no player has fumbled more.
“He’ll be difficult to take down,” Garrett said. “The best way to take somebody down, the easy way, is to take the ball from him.”
