The Cleveland Browns‘ playoff hopes were dealt a devastating blow with a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday but Myles Garrett and Co. plan to go down swinging.
The Browns fell to 5-8 with the 23-10 loss to the Bengals and their already thin playoff chances are now nearly gone, needing a massive amount of help to get in. But even if the hope of making the playoffs have dissipated, Garrett plans on giving it his all, maybe shaking up the postseason chase in another way.
“As long as they say we have a chance to make it, we’re going to keep knocking on the door trying to knock it down,” Garrett said after the game. “I don’t know what our chances are, I don’t know what the percentage is. I just know next week we got to go 1-0. If our chances are zero, we’ve got to knock down someone else’s chances.”
Garrett has been battling through a shoulder injury he suffered during a car crash in September but has been doing his part. He had three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks against the Bengals, also batting down a pair of passes and notching six tackles overall.
Garrett has 12 sacks this season and will likely be named to his fourth Pro Bowl.
Garrett Says Watson’s Play Improving Despite Loss
The Browns are now 1-1 with Deshaun Watson as their quarterback and he’s looked rusty. He made more plays against the Bengals but also tossed a costly interception and was unable to capitalize in key spots down the stretch. Garrett was encouraged by what he saw from Watson.
“He did a lot of good things. He was able to move the sticks with his feet, with his arm,” Garrett said. “Every quarterback’s going to make mistakes. I think the reward definitely outweighs the risk.”
Watson finished the game 26 of 42 for 276 yards and the first touchdown of his Browns’ career. He also rushed the ball six times for 33 yards.
“The progress is always taking one step forward,” Watson said. “The biggest goal, though, is trying to get the W. That hurts. We’ve got to learn from this.”
Like Garrett, Watson is just focused on the next game on the schedule, which will be against a banged-up Ravens team at home on Saturday.
“Anything can happen in the NFL we only can control what we can control—that’s going out there and playing very good Cleveland football in our home stadium in front of our own fans in another tough division game against Baltimore,” Watson said. “So that’s the goal.”
Bengals Snap Losing Streak against Browns
The Bengals have had some success over the last few seasons, most notably making the Super Bowl a year ago. However, the Browns had been the bugaboo, with Cleveland winning the prior five matchups and Joe Burrow going 0-4 in his starts.
The Bengals were able to pick up the win without a couple of their top options in the passing game in Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, who were both out with injuries. In their absence, Ja’Marr Chase stepped up, catching 10 balls for 119 yards with a score.
“Zac [Taylor] told me before the game he was just going to try to get me the ball and make something happen,” said Chase after the game, who has been in some hefty trash talk with the Browns defensive backs.
The Bengals have won their last five and are tied with the Ravens for the lead in the AFC North at 9-4.
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Myles Garrett Sounds Off on Browns’ Playoff Hopes After Loss