DE Myles Garrett (11.21.24)
Myles, was that personal for you tonight?
“Personal? No. You try to take things a bit personally. You know, there’s no certain aspects of the game that you want to use as motivation. As newspaper material, as they call it, or clipboard, whatever they call it. But use that as motivation to go out there and play your very best and just try to make that as contagious as possible to men around you.”
So how satisfying is it to be, not only get to win, but to be 3-and-up on TJ Watt?
“I wasn’t really looking at what he did. I was really just focused on going out there and playing the very best ball I could. But, yeah, I wanted to make it known that I’m the guy, I’m the number one edge defender. That was a statement I was intending to make, and I think I made.”
Myles, you guys probably should have won this game a few times and you were down. But what was just the emotions of not only the last few minutes, but in the locker room?
“That first drive they had, and then the four really hurt. It seemed like everything was going their way. Had some calls that went their way, made some plays as well. It was all about rallying and staying together. They made a play to go up, but we still had time to go out there and still win the game for us. We knew the offense was going to make a play. We just have to be there to complement him.”
Myles, did you get an apology from TJ Watt?
“I didn’t see him afterwards, but take nothing away from, no disrespect from my comments. He’s an absolute dog, hell of a player, and I’m staying in my lane, but I’m trying to be the guy and I think I’m showing that day in and day out.”
Know, what this meant to Nick Chubb as well as anyone, how much, how hard he’s worked to get back to where he’s at now. What do you think it meant to him and what did it mean to you to see him get those touchdowns?
“I mean, it meant a lot to me. I know it means a lot to him. He won’t say it, but it’s true, I’ll say it. This time last year, we were sick to our stomachs and it hurt to have his family hurting, having to see that. For him to deal with all that, had to go through that kind of recovery, that mental obstacle. Not knowing what your future is and how long it’s going to take to get back. There was just so much in the air. For him to come back and be pivotal in this game, it just speaks to the kind of resilience and the man that he is, and we absolutely love him.”
Myles, you seem to win this game on fourth down with you guys coming up with stops and the offense converting on all four of their chances. How much did that tilt the game for you guys?
“It was huge. It was monumental in the game. Keeping them from extending drives on the 4th and 1, 4th and twos. That steals momentum from them, thinking that they can run the ball, get to the logo and you never know what happens after that. But getting those short fields for our offense and just chipping away and even scoring or continue to create short fields to eventually put the ball in, I think that’s what won the game for us.”
Jameis mentioned that you talked to the team beforehand and you asked everybody to go out there and fight with you. Can you just maybe share with us why was it so important for you to rally the troops like that?
“I just want to let everybody know the mission. It doesn’t change. Don, the records. No. This is division football. This is as classic of the matchup as it gets. Browns-Steelers, Thursday night. You can’t ask for a better platform, a better time to showcase what you can do as an individual and as a team. So just go up and recognize the opportunity and take hold of it.”
How has your understanding of this game evolved over your career?
“I think at this point I’ve seen a whole lot. I’ve seen a lot of things change, especially recently, honestly, with how teams are really trying to go back to that power run game and establish the run as much more than they had previously. I feel like it was more of an air raid and everybody was trying to throw the ball through the air. And now I feel like there is a bit of a return back to median, making them more of a physical game, more of a run game, more of an AFC North type of deal. And I think that’s realizing that you have such talented guys in the backfield, those running backs who can be pivotal in changing the momentum of the game, being able to keep them multidimensional. I think that’s really comes back to the forefront and just trying to watch them and determine how we can take those guys out of the game and keep them as one dimensional as we can.”
Myles after last week’s loss at 2-8, you said the players should be playing for legacy at this point. Do you feel like that message resonated with these guys in today’s game?
“I think so. That’s part of the reason why I spoke today, making sure that’s at the forefront of their minds. You always have something to play for. Find your why. If you want to go out and get a new contract, you want to play for this team, you want to play for another team, you want to play for family, you are playing for a loved one, for somebody you lost. Whatever it is, go out there and find it. Go out there and go get it. It’s out there for the taking. Take this opportunity, take a deep breath and capture the moment.”
Joe Thomas tweeted about what a great pass rusher you are and how the (Pittsburgh) Steelers did everything they could to take you out of it, but you were still able to get those sacks. So if they weren’t giving you the one one-on-ones that the (Los Angeles) Chargers were, how were you able to be as successful as you were in that first half?
“Well, I actually can’t tell you because it might be used against me next time. We see them in two weeks. So let me go ahead and say it was tough, so let’s just keep it at that.”
It seemed like Jameis really took your words to heart. He already knew how important this was, but it seemed like he really embraced the mission and knew how important it was. Can you just talk about just how he went out there and just played his heart and soul out in this game?
“I mean, he sure did. He doesn’t get rattled. He’s as tuned in and focused as anyone I’ve seen at that position. Turned the page. There was a turnover. Came back to the sideline. [He said], ‘Love you. I’m sorry. We’re gonna get it back.’ He was already on to the next one. How can we complete the mission? So, I have a lot of respect for him. At first it was from afar, now seeing it on the field in front of me. It’s a blessing to have someone who plays the game with such a passion and want to. And you can’t ask for a better teammate when they take those things to heart and they want to play for you like we’re actually brothers. And that’s what we have to attain, that brotherhood.”
Myles, I saw you signing a jersey in the locker room. Can you tell me who that was for and why?
“It was for Mike Ford. He told me I’m the best. So he wants to be able to get it before anything happens.”
You played in some pretty cool atmospheres throughout your career, college, maybe even in high school, widely with the Browns. Where does this one rank just in terms of everything that’s kind of surrounding it?
“I mean, as far as cool, I guess this would be second coldest, barring the (New Orleans) Saints a couple years back. But this was, as far as the actual cool factor, this probably takes the cake. Rivalry, Thursday night, we’re the only show in town, and it starts pouring down with the snow, you can’t ask for a more classic one to watch in the morning in about 20 years. So this was a fun one and we got to take this momentum and carry it to the next one. I don’t care what the record is. We got a lot to fight for.”
What kind of momentum can this give you, Myles, going into Denver and then maybe the rest of the season?
“I mean, it just shows what kind of resilience that we have. We’re still a team that’s very bonded, still has a lot of one-twos to us, very passionate about this game, and we’re not bowing our heads to the season or towards anybody. We want to win. We’re not playing for any consolation, no picks, we want to go out there and put our foot on everybody’s throat. So, we’re trying to carry this momentum throughout the season. But guys got to take this one in, take that 24 hour rule, watch the film, dump it, and then go on to the next one.”