Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t allow Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett to beat them. But as a result, the Steelers lost their grip on the AFC North.
That was the narrative flying around Steelers social media following Sunday’s 13-6 loss to the Browns. Several pundits criticized Pittsburgh’s game plan against Garrett, who was 1 sack away from breaking the NFL’s single-season record in the category.
Tomlin and Rodgers both received questions about the team’s Week 17 plan on Garrett. As expected, the head coach and quarterback didn’t agree that stopping Garrett was a higher priority than winning the game.
“We didn’t do anything against Myles [Garrett] that we don’t normally do against Myles. The sack record is irrelevant,” Tomlin told reporters. “We’ve got to minimize him if we want to engineer victory.
“We did the same last time we played them. I didn’t think he had any sacks in that game either. We didn’t take a different approach because of the gravity of the record. It’s just standard business when you are playing these guys and him.”
Garrett didn’t have any sacks and just two tackles in Week 6 versus the Steelers. On Sunday, he had one tackle and one quarterback hit.
But Garrett seemed much more involved in Week 17 than the first matchup. And the other Browns defenders appeared to take advantage of opportunities because of Pittsburgh’s focus on slowing down Garrett on Sunday.
“We had a similar game plan as the first time,” Rodgers said to the media. “We just executed better in the first game.”
Myles Garrett Fails to Reach Sack Record vs. Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers and Tomlin both made valid points. In Week 6, Garrett had very little impact against the Steelers offensive line. That helped the Steelers cruise to a 23-9 victory.
The veteran quarterback has also had a quick release throughout the 2025 season.
But Week 17 did feel different, as both pundits and fans remarked about on social media. CBS announcers Jim Nantz and Tony Romo also helped keep Garrett’s sack record chase on the minds of viewers by routinely bringing it up during the broadcast.
Multiple times in Sunday’s game, Rodgers checked the ball down for plays that resulted in negative yardage. Instead of a Garrett sack, the Browns had seven tackles for loss.
Had Rodgers held onto the ball longer, maybe he could have made a play down field. The risk, though, in doing that would have been giving up a sack.
Garrett came close to registering a sack during the second half. After delivering a quick pass, which kept Garrett from the record, Rodgers smiled at the Browns defensive lineman.
Rodgers, though, insisted he wasn’t thinking about the record.
“It wasn’t on my mind,” Rodgers told reporters.
Mike Tomlin-John Harbaugh Renew Rivalry for AFC North Title
Only former NFL head coaches George Halas and Curly Lambeau have squared off more times than Tomlin and Baltimore Ravens‘ John Harbaugh in league history. The next matchup between the two AFC North coaches during Week 18 will come with the division on the line.
The winner of the Steelers-Ravens matchup will capture the AFC North and host a playoff game. The losing team will be eliminated.
It’s been an inconsistent season for the Steelers. They started 4-1 and are 5-6 since then.
During that 11-game stretch, the Steelers won three in a row once but also lost back-to-back twice.
Meanwhile, the Ravens started 1-5 but finished the climb back to .500 on Saturday night.
The Steelers defeated the Ravens, 27-22, in Baltimore on December 7. The Steelers are 5-1 against the Ravens in the rivalry’s last six matchups in Pittsburgh.
For Cleveland, Garrett has one more game remaining to break the sack record. Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt each have the single-season sack record with 22.5.
Garrett can tie the record with half a sack during Week 18.
Aaron Rodgers, Mike Tomlin Push Back on Myles Garrett Narrative From Week 17 Loss