Myles Garrett seeks special outing Monday with shorthanded Browns a win away from first place in AFC North

Myles Garrett watched his historic strip-sack, fumble recovery and 15-yard return for a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens about three times, including once with his family.

Then the Browns All-Pro defensive end turned his attention to producing another special play Monday when the Browns (7-6) host the Las Vegas Raiders (6-7).

“I’m trying to watch film on the Raiders and see how I can do it again,” Garrett said last week on Zoom.

Amid a COVID-19 outbreak, the Browns are expected to be severely shorthanded when they try to move into first place in the AFC North with a win over the Raiders at FirstEnergy Stadium.

They entered game day with 23 players and three coaches sidelined due to COVID-19. They have until 2 p.m. Monday to activate players for the 5 p.m. kickoff, so there is hope some of their vaccinated, asymptomatic players on the COVID-19 list can return in time to face the Raiders.

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The NFL and NFL Players Association gave the Browns a fighting chance by striking a deal Thursday on new protocols for testing off the COVID-19 list and by agreeing Friday to postpone the game with the Raiders from 4:30 p.m. Saturday until Monday evening.

Still, it's safe to say the Browns will be relying on backups at many positions.

“Guys who are starters, who are big-time playmakers for this team, we’re going to have to show it,” Garrett said. “We’re going to have to lead, and we’re going to have to lead by example, not just lead with our voices.

“We’re short-staffed and there are lot of guys who are out, but no one’s going to make excuses for [us] and nobody’s going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got to do what we say we wanted to do all year, and that means we have to go through the Raiders to do it.”

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Making the playoffs for the second consecutive season is the goal.

With four regular-season games left, the Browns would likely need to win at least three of them to qualify for the postseason. An upset road victory on Christmas Day against their only remaining NFC opponent — the Green Bay Packers (11-3) — is a tall order. Then AFC North rematches against the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6-1) and Cincinnati Bengals (8-6) await in the final two weeks.

Garrett doesn't want to take anything for granted down the stretch.

“We’ve got to win out,” he said.

Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett achieved two milestones on same play vs. Baltimore Ravens

Garrett played a huge role in the Browns preserving their playoff hopes last week with a 24-22 win over the Ravens (8-6), who suffered a 31-30 loss Sunday at home to the Packers.

With a win over the Raiders, the Browns would move into first place in the AFC North because they hold the three-team tiebreaker over the Bengals and Ravens. With a loss to the Raiders, the Browns would fall to last place in the division.

Last week, on second-and-10 from the Baltimore 20-yard line, Garrett rushed past left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and hit the ball with his right hand as Ravens backup quarterback Tyler Huntley tried to pass. Garrett scooped the ball up and ran along Cleveland's sideline until he reached the end zone, allowing the Browns to go ahead 24-3 with 49 seconds left in the second quarter.

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The moment was fit for a scene from a movie. Not only did Garrett register his 15th sack this season and thereby set the official single-season franchise sack record, but he also scored his first touchdown as a professional player.

“Those are the type of plays that he's capable of making a lot,” Browns linebacker Malcolm Smith said last week. “I actually said it to him earlier in the week. I was like, ‘Man, we need a defensive touchdown because I think that will really help.’

“He's all-world. He went out and he executed at a high level. When he plays like that, we can really take it to the next level.”

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It's an example of Garrett performing like an NFL Defensive Player of the Year — the award he has been chasing since the Browns drafted him first overall in 2017 out of Texas A&M University.

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“I think it’s very hard for one man to win any sporting event, and if I have to step up to do that, I’m going to do my damnedest,” he said. “But I think it’s a team affair, and there’s 11 guys on the field for a reason. If they want to take me out, they know they have to throw three guys at me. But I know if I get my opportunities one-on-one ... I have to capitalize on it, and I’ve got to win.”

Two days before the Browns' rematch against the Ravens, who won the first game 16-10 on Nov. 28 in Baltimore, Garrett publicly questioned the focus of his teammates and coaches after a Friday practice and challenged them to sharpen their attention to detail and increase their sense of urgency.

Smith said he wasn't aware of those comments, but defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and cornerback Denzel Ward were.

“Myles is our defensive leader,” Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods said last week. “I think he tries to lead by example, and I think when that doesn't happen, if he feels like he needs to say something to the team or to the defense, he does it. When you can go out and make a play like [the strip-sack, recovery and touchdown], I think that backs up your type of leadership and the things that you said to them.

“Going through the course of a season, it's long. It's a grind, and guys get banged up. There are long days. Guys don't always want to be here. Me too. It gets tough at times, but you just have to fight through the grind and keep your head down. When things aren't going well, someone needs to step up, whether it's me as the coordinator to the entire defense, but when it comes from a player, especially a player the caliber of Myles, it goes a long way to get those guys right.”

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With the Browns looking to get after Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, they'll likely be without Clowney, whose five sacks rank second on the team behind Garrett. Clowney experienced symptoms Thursday, when he sat out practice with an illness, tested positive for COVID-19 Friday and officially landed on the list Sunday.

Garrett had his 2020 season derailed by COVID-19 and its aftereffects, which he believes were exacerbated by his asthma, so he made sure to maintain distance from teammates last week at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus in Berea. He joined Thursday's practice late and worked off to the side. He was listed as a nonparticipant in Saturday's practice in the team's field house.

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Garrett's father, Lawrence, and mother, Audrey, contracted the virus last summer, and Lawrence had a frightening struggle before recovering.

“I know how it affected me, so I'm not trying to catch it,” said Garrett, who is vaccinated. “Even if I'm asymptomatic this time around, no telling what it could do to my loved ones and what happened with them last year.”

No. 3 defensive end Takk McKinley is expected to start in place of Clowney. McKinley was activated Saturday from the COVID-19 list after testing positive Tuesday. He had a strip-sack and three quarterback hits last week against the Ravens.

“Takk, he is dynamic in the run game because of his speed and his ability to close,” Woods said. “He made a really good play on [Ravens starting quarterback] Lamar [Jackson]. When you put him in there and match him up on a tackle, match him up on the inside on a guard or have the ability to move other people around because of what he can do, that really helps you defensively.”

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McKinley is an example of a player the Browns need to rise to the occasion amid their COVID-19 crisis.

“You don't sense any panic,” Woods said of his players. “You feel like guys are ready to step up, like, ‘Hey, it's my opportunity. It's my chance.’”

Smith said he believes the defense is capable of carrying the Browns, and fellow linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. sees a unit hitting its stride.

“You want to be trending in the right direction in December,” Walker said last week, “and I think we're doing that right now.”

Make no mistake about it — Garrett is the defense's primary source of power.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett seeks special outing as Browns fight for first place