When preparing to face the Browns’ top-ranked defense, the first player that comes to mind is Myles Garrett. It’s similar to Aaron Donald and the Rams, given each player’s sheer dominance up front.
The Rams knew Garrett probably wouldn’t be 100% healthy in Sunday’s game after injuring his shoulder in Week 12 but they still spent a lot of time game planning for him. All that effort worked because Garrett was held without a single sack, tackle or QB hit.
After the Rams’ win over the Browns, Sean McVay bumped into Garrett as the two were leaving the stadium and he had a funny message for the star defensive end. The exchange was shared by Zac Jackson of The Athletic:
“Hey,” McVay yelled towards Garrett. “I want you to know that you ruined my f—ing week just worrying about you, alright?”
On the “Coach McVay Show” this week, McVay recalled his quick chat with Garrett, saying he has a “lot of respect” for the player that he is.
“When we were driving out, he was walking to the buses,” McVay said. “I talked to him a little bit after the game but got a lot of respect for the way he goes about it. He’s a challenging guy to prepare for, so just really said that and kept it moving.”
Garrett said after the game that his shoulder didn’t really limit him but it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t hindered at all by it. This was the first game all season where he was completely shut out of the stat sheet after recording 13 sacks and 32 tackles in the first 11 games.