Getty Images Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns.
The Cleveland Browns may be out of the mix for the postseason but are embracing the opportunity to potentially end the Pittsburgh Steelers’ chances of making the playoffs.
The Steelers face the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night and would still need some help to get in if they win out. But if the Browns have a chance to end their hopes, Garrett would be more than happy to deliver the final blow.
“I mean, we’d love to do that. We consider them our rivals. Divisionally, if we can’t make it, we are definetley going to make sure those guys can’t,” Garrett told reporters after beating the Commanders on Sunday 24-10. “We are going to do everything in our power. Much respect for to them for being in this position but we live for times like this.”
Garrett added: “”Pittsburgh never made it easy for us, so we’ll have to earn it — stop the run and do what we did today.
The Browns played a part in ending Washington’s playoff hopes on Sunday. While the Browns’ victory didn’t completely knock them out of contention, a Green Bay Packers win did later in the day.
“I mean, it’s huge for us,” Garrett said of the Browns final game. “We play to win always, so doesn’t matter no our chances but we know the [Steelers] have some chances left so we’re going to try to erase those if we can.”
Browns Defense Hitting Its Stride Late
The Browns defense had a very shaky start to the season, highlighed by blown assignments and late collapses. But the unit has been very strong the last three weeks, allowing an average of just 10 points in the last three weeks.
“We’ve been talking about doing this all year and now we’re hitting our stride it’s a little bit late,” Garrett said. “But just like last year we got to be able to carry this into the to the next year and you know be able to you know use that momentum.”
Garrett has some personal incentive against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Pro Bowl pass-rusher has 15 sacks this season and can tie his own franchise record with one more. If he can get to Kenny Pickett twice, he’ll reset the prestigious mark.
Deshaun Watson Gives Credit to Defense After Victory
The first half was not pretty for the Browns on offense. They entered the locker room at half trailing 7-3, despite the defense forcing two turnovers. Deshaun Watson had just 23 passing yards and it simply wasn’t enough.
But Watson and the offense found their footing in the second half, with the Browns QB passing for a trio of touchdowns. He gave credit to the defense for putting them in the right positions.
“It’s huge. It’s huge,” Watson said. “We left a lot of points out there on the board, but the defense kept us in the game. They took away the ball and we didn’t give the ball away. So that was very, very huge to see that. And we gotta continue to build this energy, build this game and this victory for next week for a big in-division game.”
As for the offense, Garrett was happy to see things clicking.
“It looked good,” he said. “You’re always excited to see that. Coop coming up big and DPJ with a nice catch down there. Same with David. I know those guys are going to be playmakers for us for a while. And D-Wat hitting them downfield for those long plays and then moving the ball so effortlessly, that’s what we expect from him.”
The Browns will look to keep it rolling against the Steelers, who they beat 29-17 back on September 22.