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CLEVELAND, Ohio – Myles Garrett called off his shot ahead of the biggest game of his life, predicting he will have a huge divisional playoff game against reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“Absolutely,” he said on Friday. “It should be the game to do it. One of the best teams in the league, if not the best team in the league, but they have to get in there and they have to prove it, and we have to prove that we can fight anybody.
Garrett, who finished No.6 in the NFL with 12 sacks, hasn’t had a monster game since returning from a two-game absence with COVID-19. In his six return matches, he’s only managed 2.5 sacks and no forced fumbles. He’s been held bagless in each of the last two games and hasn’t forced a fumble in his last eight outings after forcing four in his first seven.
He’s gotten stronger every week, but has had weekly respiratory treatments since returning and admitted to a coughing fit in the locker room after the Giants game. Last week in Pittsburgh, he was on the court for 74 defensive shots – 82% of the total. With Olivier Vernon out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the Steelers have doubled Garrett in almost every game.
“I was really tired after the last game knowing they threw the ball over 60 times and I was a double team on the majority of those,” he said. “It costs you a lot of money during the game to have to fight against several people. You just need to know that your time will come. I got close a few times, but like I said before, I’m due.
His timing might actually be good despite Mahomes’ bizarre athleticism. Ten of Mahomes’ 22 sacks this season have come in the last five games, including three in Week 14 by the Dolphins and four in Week 15 by the Saints. Mahomes won both games, but he also threw three interceptions against the Dolphins – after throwing just two in his previous 12 games.
Additionally, Mahomes has groped four times in his last five games and lost two, having groped just once in his previous 10 games. He also threw four of his six interceptions in his last three games, meaning he was heading in the wrong direction before pulling out the season finale and then being given time off last week as the lead. of series n ° 1. By the time he enters the field, it will be 21 days since his last game.
But still, he’s Patrick Mahomes, the former NFL MVP, reigning Super Bowl MVP, QB ranked No.3 in the NFL with a 108.2 rating, and arguably the best quarterback in the game. NFL.
“He’s kind of seen as the face of the league right now,” Garrett said. “He’s just going up there with (Rams DT) Aaron Donald as the two faces people consider the best in attack and defense. I want him to be able to come home when he has his kid (s) and tell them he went against Myles Garrett. It’s not just me against him – it’s the Browns against the Chiefs – but individually I like to leave an impression on everyone I go against.
Garrett, who has known Mahomes since they were prep stars in Texas, knows the athleticism he faces.
“The guy is awesome with his feet and he’s great to throw off the run,” said Garrett. “He can make plays in any part of the pitch so we have to prepare for that. Don’t jump for those fake balls. If you shoot him, clean him up and try to take the ball away from him. The best place to be on the pitch with Patrick is with the ball in our hands and not with him because he’s great with it.
The admiration is mutual.
“I’ve known Myles for a long time, being in high school and believe me he was exactly the same height in high school as he is today, so I’m glad I didn’t play him back then, but he’s a great player. , plays extremely hard and has a ton of talent, ” Mahomes said at his press conference on Wednesday. “They’ve got talent on this whole defense and so for us it’s about running at a high level, getting the ball out of my hands a bit like I said and letting the guys make plays and we’re going to have to play our best football. if we want to win a football game at the end of the day.
Garrett, who sacked Mahomes once in the Chiefs’ 37-21 win over the Browns in 2018, will be ready for the QB’s unusually deep fallout and all-angle delivery to Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
“He’s deceptive with his deep recoil,” Garrett said. “He does it because he has the arm to compensate for it, but he comes down that far back down and then goes up two or three yards more so that you lean at about a hook angle to come back towards him.” You really have to plan what he’s going to do.
“You can’t always think he’s going to take a deep step back because he’s taking a shallow step or taking a step, so you have to be prepared to counter or push one of the other three guys or two guys on the line. He has his own style and I think we’re ready.
Mahomes, who has thrown 38 touchdowns with just six interceptions en route to his 14-1 mark this season, is so good the Browns aren’t being given much luck. The Chiefs receive Sammy Watkins, who was ruled out of this game with a calf injury, tweeted ‘I wouldn’t go that far’ of the Browns offering competition, and the Steelers’ Chase Claypool has said on Monday that the Browns would “ get applause ” by the Chiefs.
“You have to prove what you’re worth day in and day out,” Garrett said. “No team or individual has been treated or held in high regard until they prove this every time they show up. We just have to point and show what we’re worth whenever we’re asked. Whenever those lights are on and we’re on the pitch, we have to show that we’re a great team. Here is another opportunity to show it. “
Even the Browns took a 28-0 first-quarter lead over the Steelers last week, and then beating them 48-37 on national television was not enough to convince most people that the Browns can upset the Chiefs.
“It’s just a game,” he said. “It takes more than one outing. We must continue to prove it, not only to them, but to ourselves. We have to make it a routine, like the Patriots dynasty. The guys just assumed they were winning every time they looked at the calendar. We have to have the same kind of mentality here.
The important thing, of course, is that they believe in themselves.
“We’re here, we might as well be great,” he said. “No one is excited to get a ticket to dance. Like I said, you wanna dance with the pretty girl. You want to shoot your photo, and the worst she can say is no. As long as you go there and shoot your best shot you’ll be proud of the result, but we’re not happy until we see how far we can go.
As the Browns walked towards their 11-5, they grew more and more confident to the point where they now believe they can win the Super Bowl.
“I don’t think you would walk the field if you didn’t believe in yourself,” he said. “You can’t doubt yourself, your abilities and your teammates, especially not in the playoffs. These guys believe in them because they have proven time and time again that they deserve to be here. As long as you’re here, you can go as far as you want, as long as you get the job done and prepare.
As good as Mahomes is, Garrett expects Baker Mayfield “to do things with Baker.” Be the gunslinger like he was. He’s going to do these special games with his feet and he’s going to do those big throws. Right now he’s hot. It just has to be something he continues, obviously.
Garrett also knows how much this game means to Kareem Hunt, who missed a Super Bowl last year with the Chiefs.
“He wants to go back to the stadium and to the team that drafted him,” he said. “He wants to have a good game, but he wants to win. I think any of us would like to do this. We will try to do our best to win the game, not just for him, but for us and for the city.
“It’s for everyone involved, not just one person. It’s definitely in our hearts and in our minds, but I know it will be focused on the task at hand. He’s not going to do anything extraordinary. He’s going to play his game, and we’re going to play together and we’re going to play some solid football so that we can get the job done, and at the end of the day, we can all achieve what we want.
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