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Heading into Week 18, Garrett is tied with Trey Hendrickson for the NFL lead in sacks at 14. That’s four straight seasons of dominance, but he’s never been the league’s sack king. The Browns’ edge rusher couldn’t care less.
“I mean, I’d rather upset them and mess up their playoff hopes,” Garrett said Thursday via the team’s official website. His target? Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. “Definitely going to do what I can to be disruptive and take eight out of the game as much as possible. If that comes along with [the sack title], outstanding. But at the end of the day, I want to win.”
The Ravens clinch the AFC North with a win. A loss? The Steelers swoop in with a chance to take the division later in the day.
Lamar Jackson’s evolution makes him a bigger threat
Garrett admits that traditional strategies no longer work. Garrett also called sacking Lamar Jackson the toughest task among his 102.5 career sacks.
“Absolutely. It’s not even close,” Garrett said. “There are definitely some other special cats at the quarterback position who are shifty. I mean, Pat (Patrick Mahomes) himself, he has great contact balance, but, I mean, Lamar has that. But he also has speed, he has quickness, is shifty, so he has that tremendous running ability, and he can also throw the ball pretty much anyone on the field right now.”
Jackson’s growth as a pocket passer has made him even more dangerous, Garrett admitted.
“Completely? Hell, no. The man’s amazing,” Garrett said when asked if Jackson could be taken out of the game entirely. “A couple years back, you would say, ‘Try to keep him in the pocket.’ I think even beginning of the season we were like, ‘Try to keep him in pocket, make him throw as much as possible,’ and now you’re like, ‘S—, we don’t know what to do.’ He’s been steadily growing year after year. He lost that baby weight. Now he’s back to being lean and fast as hell. So now, whether he breaks the pocket or he stays in the pocket, you’re going to have a rough day because he can do everything.”
Baltimore set to avenge their loss to the Browns in previous meet
The Baltimore Ravens are heading into their regular-season finale with one goal: secure the AFC North title and avenge their earlier loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Baltimore (11-5) is riding high after a 31-2 blowout against Houston, cementing a one-game lead over Pittsburgh. They’re heavy favorites this week, facing a Cleveland team that’s 3-13 and spiraling toward the No. 1 draft pick.
Back in October, the Browns stunned Baltimore with a 29-24 victory, fueled by Jameis Winston’s 334-yard, three-touchdown performance. Lamar Jackson hasn’t forgotten. “You can look at the Browns’ record and say that’s a sorry team, but this is the NFL. Any week can be your day,” Jackson said after the loss.
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