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Browns' Myles Garrett finds himself in 'the zone,' but blown coverages waste 3-sack outing
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- Browns' Myles Garrett finds himself in 'the zone,' but blown coverages waste 3-sack outing
CLEVELAND — Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett found himself in "the zone" against the Los Angeles Chargers , but the Browns wasted his dominance.
Garrett conceded he felt as if the Cleveland defense had either produced a sack or surrendered a touchdown for much of the first half during Sunday's 27-10 loss to the Chargers at Huntington Bank Field. Communication breakdowns in the defensive secondary overshadowed the Browns ' six sacks in the first half.
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The boom-or-bust nature of the performance only exacerbated the frustration Garrett felt about falling to 2-7 in a season defined by unmet expectations.
"I'd rather have no sacks every game than to continue losing like we are," Garrett said. "Stats are what they are, but I'd rather win every time. So it's frustrating as hell."
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates after sacking Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (not pictured) during the first quarter Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
Garrett snapped his four-game streak without a sack with an outburst in the first half. The star defensive end sacked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert twice in the final three plays of the opening quarter. In the second quarter, Garrett sacked Herbert again on the first play from scrimmage of LA's next possession. Combine all of it, and Garrett had three sacks in a span of four offensive snaps by the Chargers (5-3).
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"When I'm not making plays, I still feel there are moments at which I'm in the zone, that being one of them," Garrett said. "… But once you can really start getting dialed in on what they're trying to do, it helps you really key in on the rushes that you can use to take over the game."
Garrett controlled the game for a stretch, beating left tackle Rashawn Slater for the first two sacks and rookie right tackle Joe Alt for the third. He's now tied for sixth in the NFL with seven sacks this season.
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston (1) catches a pass while defended by Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) in the second quarter Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
Unfortunately for the Browns, Herbert controlled part of the game, too, by exploiting communication issues between cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Juan Thornhill . The consequences were a touchdown pass in each of the first two quarters.
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"You can put it all on me," Ward said. "We've got to do a better job of communicating out there. They're both blown coverages, and we gave them that. You can put it all on me. I've got to do better at communicating out there, just getting guys the call and making sure we're all in the correct position. They were really gimmes, and we gave it to them. I hate to have done that, but, like I said, put it all on me. We just got to be better."
Ward said the miscues were unrelated to his return from the sixth documented concussion of his NFL career. He suffered the most recent concussion last week in a win over the Baltimore Ravens and didn't practice until Friday, when he was a limited participant. He didn't clear concussion protocol until Saturday .
Thornhill explained he didn't want reporters to meet Ward's request to shoulder the blame.
"I don't think that was fair to Denzel to do that because it wasn't all on Denzel," Thornhill said. "I'm a safety. I'm supposed to communicate with him as well. I have to make sure he gets those checks. Even if he's not looking at me, I have to find a way to get those calls to him. So I would never put that on Denzel. It's all 11 of us. It's never just on him."
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer reacts after catching a first-quarter touchdown pass against the Browns on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
Wide receiver Joshua Palmer ran free for a wide-open, 28-yard touchdown pass from Herbert. Thornhill bit on rookie Ladd McConkey breaking from the slot to the inside. Meanwhile, Ward let Palmer run behind him as if he expected Thornhill to help with coverage. The TD allowed the Chargers to go ahead 7-0 with 6:49 left in the first quarter.
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Deja vu struck when wide receiver Quentin Johnston was left open for a 66-yard touchdown reception from Herbert. Ward appeared to be torn between covering Johnston or wide receiver Jalen Reagor , who had lined up in the slot and ran a short route toward the Cleveland sideline. Meanwhile, Thornhill was not in position to guard Johnston. As a result, the Chargers led 13-3 with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
"It's something that we got to be on the same page about," Garrett said. "There's just a lot of talk back there, and I think somebody thought it was someone else's job. And miscommunication like that leads to big plays. And we've seen that before, and we got to just get that corrected."
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Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) sacks Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert (10) during the first quarter Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
Garrett's two first-quarter sacks led to a Chargers three-and-out and punt. The Browns offense followed with a 10-play, 34-yard scoring drive capped by Dustin Hopkins ' 38-yard field goal with 9:30 left in the second quarter.
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Garrett's third sack came on the first play of a three-play drive highlighted by Johnston's 66-yard TD catch.
"Definitely [Garrett] had a great personal performance," Ward said. "But it's definitely a sour feeling when we're not able to pull the win out at the end."
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) celebrates during the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland.
Tackle Dalvin Tomlinson (1.5), linebacker Devin Bush (one) and tackle Shelby Harris (0.5) accounted for Cleveland's other three sacks. All six came in the first half. The defense also tallied 11 QB hits.
"The front did a heck of a job today," Thornhill said. "They were getting back there. They was making [Herbert] uncomfortable in the pocket.
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"Rush and coverage work together, and the back end didn't hold up today, and we were giving up some big-time plays. But it's part of the game. You always have your great games, you have your bad games, and today was one of those bad ones."
More Browns vs. Chargers: Cleveland offense and quarterback Jameis Winston struggle in loss
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett's 3 sacks in Browns vs Chargers wasted by blown coverage
