DE Myles Garrett (10.25.20)
DE Myles Garrett:
On the Hail Mary and his mindset when the ball was in the air:
“Why is nobody rushing? Why am I not out there rushing? I wanted to run, but just like coach says, sometimes when I can be the guy on play action and get a sack when you are supposed to be setting the run – ‘No, no! Yes, yes!’ and that just turns into a big play. We won so I can’t really complain.”
On looking at this game as a defensive player:
“We look at it as a win. As a defender, I look at it as we can get better. There were definitely opportunities for us to get off the field. Plays could have been made on the ball. At times, we have to scramble and are out of breath. Whether it was up the middle run games or through the D, we have to keep him from getting away. He is a talented quarterback, and we have seen that. He has been playing well, but we can’t let him control the game like that. We did just enough.”
On QB Baker Mayfield playing with a cracked rib and leading a game-winning drive:
“He is a competitor, and he wants to win. He is out there and is going to do the job the best he can to 100 percent of his ability. We have all seen it is good enough to win games. I am proud of him.”
On if seeing a QB play with a cracked rib crosses over to the defense:
“We know he is hurting. We know that he is going to do the very best he can and that we are going to do the best we can for him.”
On producing his second strip-sack against Bengals QB Joe Burrow:
“Just making a play. It is not like I see him being bad protecting the ball. I am just going for the ball, no matter who it is. He just happened to put it up there for me.”
On if this is a game he will remember forever:
“Forever? Definitely one I will look back on fondly. I would agree. Those close games and close wins, you have to call back on them. Whether you are up or down, that is how you fall back on your fundamentals, remember how you won those games and know what to do in those situations.”
On the back-and-forth nature of the game:
“It does not have to be pretty. That is the game. Gritty and grimy, and you have to be tough. At the end of the day, you have to get the win and have more points than them. If you are doing well on defense, you have a chance.”
On winning even though there were issues on defense:
“No matter what happens, as long as we pull it out, I am going to be alright and we are going to be alright.”
On WRs Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones performing after WR Odell Beckham, Jr. sustained an injury:
“They can make plays. They have shown that. DPJ has shown that. Higgins has shown that over the years. It is just getting that spotlight on them, and they were ready for it. They have gotten those moments already in practice, and it is just about bringing that to the field. We all were witness to that.”
On Mayfield having 21 consecutive completions after having a rough start to the game:
“He loves to call himself a gunslinger. Hell, I agree with him completely. He is going to live or die by his arm. He is going to believe in it. Wherever he puts it, he is going to try to make the best possible play he can on that play. We live and die by that. Whatever happens, we are going to have his back. If we have to go out there and put out the fire, we will. Just like today, he is going to win the game for us and we couldn’t be more proud.”
On his mindset during the Hail Mary pass at the end:
“Please God don’t let him catch it. When I saw it get bobbled in the air, and I was like, ‘Oh, if he catches this off this tip, I am going to lose it.’ It didn’t come to that.”
On how he felt after the game:
“Tired, just like the last one. At the end of the day, I have to just have a little bit more juice than the guy I am going against and have a better plan than what he is expecting of me and how he plans to block me. I know it is a joint effort with them, whether it is chipping, sliding my way or whatever they have to do to get me off my game. I just have to be there, be disruptive, strike the quarterback and affect his timing, and if I don’t get there, allow others to be freed up one on one or a free runner to get to the quarterback.”
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