The Cleveland Browns aren’t a good football team right now. But none of that means the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback is in for an easy night. Regardless of the standings, Cincinnati still has to deal with Myles Garrett, and he’s made life uncomfortable for just about every quarterback he’s faced this season. Former tackle Phil Taylor explained why that matchup is such a problem.

“They don’t just have one guy. Like I said, two, possibly three guys, trying to block him…he’s still getting there,” Taylor said.

Former Browns great Hanford Dixon echoed the concern, laying out what Cincinnati’s offensive line is up against.

“His first two or three steps, he’s halfway in the backfield. These tackles gotta damn near run out of their stances to keep up with Myles Garrett,” he said.

So yes, it has the feel of a long night. Cincinnati has actually done a decent job lately. Over Joe Burrow’s last five games since returning from injury, the Bengals have posted a sack percentage of 5.0, which ranks 10th in the league over that stretch. But Garrett isn’t most pass rushers. And Burrow knows that better than anyone.

“He’s more athletic than everybody else on the field — bigger, stronger than everybody else,” Burrow said. “He has a mindset that he’s not too high or too low at any point, which is pretty unique for a defensive lineman.”

If you look at Garrett’s history, Burrow’s name shows up often. He has been sacked by Garrett 12 times in his career, tied for the most with Lamar Jackson. That’s partly a product of division football. Cleveland sees Cincinnati twice a year, just like they see the Baltimore Ravens, and those matchups add up fast.

When Garrett was asked on Friday whether it made sense that Burrow was near the top of that list, he answered without hesitation.

“Absolutely,” Garrett said. “I’ve seen his face on the ground, looking up at me, saying, ‘Hi Myles, and I, ‘Hi Joe,’ too many times, so yeah, I’d figured he’d be at the top.”

Cincinnati’s protection numbers over the last 11 games tell one story. They rank fourth-lowest in sack percentage over that stretch. That’s solid. But this week isn’t normal. They’re dealing with Garrett, who’s also chasing history as he pushes toward the NFL sack record.

Myles Garrett aims for an NFL sack record

When the Cleveland Browns line up against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 18, the spotlight will land where it usually does in this matchup. Myles Garrett is chasing down Joe Burrow. Garrett needs to get him just one more time to put himself in the record books. A brief appearance on the injury report earlier in the week raised some eyebrows, but any doubt was short-lived.

The league’s most disruptive pass rusher is good to go. Garrett enters the finale with 22.0 sacks. That puts him half a sack shy of tying the NFL single-season record and one full sack away from owning it outright. The current mark sits at 22.5, shared by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. At 30 years old, Garrett doesn’t need much to make history. Just one win.

It hasn’t just been sacks, either. Garrett leads the league with 32 tackles for loss in 2025. That said, the task won’t be completely straightforward. Cleveland will be without two promising rookies. Linebacker Carson Schwesinger (quad/ankle) and tight end Harold Fannin (groin) have both been ruled out.

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Even so, Garrett has never been the type who needs ideal conditions. He’s done this with and without help, with teams sliding protection his way and offenses building entire game plans around slowing him down. More often than not, it hasn’t mattered.

For Cleveland, in a season filled with frustration and missed opportunities, this moment still carries weight. It matters to morale. It matters to the locker room. And for Garrett, it’s a chance to put his name alongside the game’s greats.