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Myles Garrett shows that records don't change, but the games do | Opinion
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- Myles Garrett shows that records don't change, but the games do | Opinion
Myles Garrett is the NFL's sack king.
The Cleveland Browns defensive end set the record for most sacks in a single season with his 23rd of the 2025 campaign, a takedown of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on one of the most impressive speed rushes you'll ever see in your life, on Sunday, Jan. 4.
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But as with all records, this distinction – long as it is noted and referenced as we talk about the NFL – must come with the proper context.
Garrett had the benefit of a 17th game. Without it, his quest for the record ends with him chasing Aaron Rodgers around. As we saw in Week 17, Rodgers released the ball quicker than anybody could utter "hot potato!" Regardless, that's how the Pittsburgh Steelers have designed their offense.
We don't tell the whole truth enough in our world today. But doing is important. It doesn't take away from Garrett's greatness – did you see that sack? How many people have you watched who are capable of moving like that? The moment deserves warranted recognition. But let's not take the easy way out by failing to complete a proper accounting.
NFL's single-season sack king? The context behind the numbers
The sack-king dispute was already messy and required some clean-up, even before Garrett upended the rubble. Garrett surpassed Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt , each of whom had 22.5 sacks.
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Reggie White had 21 sacks in 12 games with the Philadelphia Eagles during the strike-shortened and partially scab-played 1987 season. That's certainly something worth further examination that feels lost to the past because, well, it was nearly four decades ago now.
Jerry Rice, who also played 12 games that season, had 22 touchdown receptions. Randy Moss' 23 TD catches came in a 16-game season. O.J. Simpson's 1973 season – the first 2,000-yard rushing performance – came in the era of 14-game regular seasons.
Dan Marino's 1984 campaign has lost luster over the years. The Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley surpassed the 2,000-yard rushing threshold in 16 games (and was the ninth to do it) and stood down in Week 18 to preserve Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 rushing yards that's stood since 1984.
Dickerson is unabashedly transparent about not wanting his record broken, which is something he has in common with Mark Gastineau, a sack king in his own right. Strahan famously set his record via a Brett Favre dive, which broke the heart of Gastineau – the previous record-holder (22 sacks in 1984). Sacks weren't even an official stat until 1982. Pro Football reference lists the unofficial leader as Al Baker, who had 23 sacks (unofficially) with the Detroit Lions in 1978.
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Another more-recent example and more pertinent to Garrett's record is Watt, who accomplished his single-season, record-tying feat in 15 games during the 2021 season (the first that had 17 games).
Records don't change. But the games do, and we can recognize that
And pretty soon, we'll be at 18 games. And we'll be having the same discussion about why context is important when we're talking about records. Which makes talking about it way less fun. But that's the cost of business when you're a sports fan. It's a fine tradeoff. The discourse can be whacky in exchange for the spectacle Garrett provides. (Garrett is handsomely compensated for his labor. He signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Browns that included $123.5 million in guarantees in March 2025.)
Garrett will go down as one of the best to ever do it and have his claim to GOAT status. Garrett has now racked up 125.5 career sacks since the Browns drafted him first overall in 2017 (83 of those have come in the last five seasons). He turned 30 last week. Bruce Smith's 200 sacks certainly could be within reach.
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Sam Fortier of the Washington Post talked about how Garrett's chase felt "small." I don't agree with that at face value; I'm a sucker for narrative and excitement. But he asked the right question – does it count to break a record in 17 games that was set in 16 games? One of his theses: a lot of records feel cheapened. My colleague Nate Davis compiled a list of NFL records that could be affected by the existence of a 17-game schedule.
Myles Garrett is the single-season sack leader. Let the record books reflect it. The same as Barry Bonds is MLB's home-run leader. The record books should reflect such. But let's make sure we're saying all of the truth.
We don't do that enough these days.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Myles Garrett's sack record sparks conversation about sports records
