DE Myles Garrett (9.7.25)
Myles, in situations like that, do you say anything to a guy like Andre (Szmyt) when you know he’s probably feeling like the weight of the worlds on his shoulders?
“No, I feel like saying something to people in that situation, especially if you don’t know them that well, you don’t know if you’re adding unnecessary pressure if he’s already know in that mindset, and you know there’s going to be situations like this again. He’s going to make those kicks, and we’re going to be better for it. We’re going to win those games. So, there’s no more scrutiny on him than the rest of us. We didn’t have to be in that position, we could have came out faster on defense and picked it up earlier. And it’s a team game, and we all have to play together.”
As a captain of this team, what is your message to the locker room after this loss? You got a winning hand, divisional game, now you have another division game coming up.
“Keep your head up. We don’t lose two in a row. You’ve got to look at the film and get up off the canvas quick to another division opponent. A good team we’re facing, and it’s going to be very different styles. So, we have to be able to prepare and look ourselves in the mirror very quickly, see what adjustments we need to make and get right back at it, because those guys aren’t slowing down and neither can we.”
What changed for the defense after that first drive?
“I mean, they have a chip plan. They have a plan for me. And, we just got to figure it out and find a way to crack it open and then get me rolling. And I feel like one tackle can start to get my rhythm and find what works. It’s really a snowball effect. And I was really inspired by the play of the other guys, making plays all across the field. Whether it was the front, it was the backers and the DB’s – it was a little bit of everybody. So, I’m just happy to be able to step up in those moments. But, you know, we got to have more, and it’s got to be quicker.”
Do you feel that you guys are in many ways a pretty young team? And there might be a couple of growing pains, but the way that you played today seems like maybe encouraging for the future.
“I mean, losing is losing. It’s not encouraging at all. So, anytime you step on this field, you’re old enough to win. No one’s going to make any adjustments just because you’re a younger player, you’re a rookie or a sophomore. So, those guys who came in and made plays for us, now we’re going to continue to lean on them, no matter the age, and just continue to lift each other up. This is one game we were very close. Learn from it. Win the turnover battle. We’ve got to get some turnovers of our own to match them, and I think that swings the game right there.”
Can you take us through that three sacks in a row sequence that you guys had?
“It’s hard, you know, you kind of get into a zone, and it’s hard to explain for myself. And then I feel like, you know, I kind of started a domino effect and everybody else wanted to get in on the party. Zay (Isaiah McGuire), Mason (Graham). Those guys started collapsing their pocket and getting busy themselves. So, I’m happy to see them get rolling, and we just have to do a little bit sooner. They had a good plan. We didn’t appreciate how they were getting after our quarterback in our house. We knew we had to take step up and like I said, we just have to do it quicker.”
Myles, I think at one point you had mentioned that the notion of Joe Flacco coming back here to his football team was very intensive to get you guys excited about the season. How do you think Joe did out there today? And do you feel like he’s kind of the Joe that you guys had in 2023?
“Well, it’s not my position to grade or rate Joe’s performance. I think he made enough plays to win the game and we’ve got to rally around it. And, you know, it’s a team game.”
Myles, you know how good Joe (Burrow) is, Cincinnati’s Joe, the rest of that offense is, to hold him to I think 141 yards and not come away with the win? And you know how precious the wins are, too. So how frustrating is that to let slip away?
“It’s tough, you know, we would have loved to have played the first half how we played the second half, and I think that would have really put the game away much sooner, kind of similar to how we did in ‘23. And no, I think that’s something that we can take away is that we have that level of quality on the defensive front, being able to shut those guys down, keep them from dominating the game with the special individuals they have over there. So, that’s something we can take away on defense, but we got to do it all together. And it’s got to be a bit of a tit for tat offense goes and makes plays, has a long drive, we got to get it three and out, get their defense back on the field while they’re tired and allow them to make plays again and keep on putting points on the board.”
How big of a test will it be towards your guys’ culture? Tough loss, like I said going back how would that impact the culture?
“These next few days will impact the culture of being able to get back in after a loss. No one wants to lose, but how you choose to wake up and attack the upcoming week is really showing who you are as a man, as a person, as a player. So, continue to work, you’re behind often and elevate the people around you and we’re all looking to each other. There’s no one great leader on the team who’s going to you know pull us forward. We have to do it together, that’s how we do things.”
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