Myles Garrett broke the elusive NFL sack record yesterday. His 23rd sack of the season, which took him 17 games to achieve, narrowly surpassed Michael Strahan’s 22.5 mark from 2001. After more than two decades, there is a new single-season sack king, as Garrett continues his fast track toward the Hall of Fame.
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There was a real moment when fans thought the Cleveland Browns’ star defender was not going to reach the record on Sunday. He was just 1.5 sacks away in Week 15 with three games left to play, but he registered only a half-sack over the next two games.
That is why Garrett shared that he woke up in fear this morning, scared that he would not break the record. But with 9:22 left to play in the season, his nightmare was over, and he sacked Bengals QB Joe Burrow. After the game, he went over to his mother to embrace her in the special moment.
“She said that I’m my father’s son, and she knew that I was going to do it,” Garrett revealed after the game (via the NFL on NBC). “She was so proud, so happy that they were here to share this moment.”
Along with Garrett’s mother were his grandmother and father, although his dad was busy trying to capture it all on camera. More on that later. Here is what Garrett said in response to his mother’s words:
“I told her, ‘I’m a Garrett. That means I’m your son as well, and I did it for both of you. I did it for Gran. And I’m so glad y’all were here to see me in this moment,’” Garrett said.
It was sweet and special to see the edge rusher dedicate the record to his parents. They seemingly knew he was going to do it and showed up to be there for the moment.
Myles Garrett’s dad, Lawrence, is READY to capture the moment when his son breaks the sack record
(@NFL)
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 4, 2026
Back to Garrett’s father, Lawrence, who was spotted in the stands trying to capture his son’s historic moment on camera. He held a camera with one of the biggest lenses known to man as he sat waiting to memorialize the moment. Eventually, he got his shot.
All in all, it’s a heartwarming story about Garrett and his family during a special day. There was fear not just in the defender, but in every NFL fan that he wasn’t going to pass Strahan on the all-time list. Now that he has, everyone feels more than comfortable giving Garrett his flowers and touting him as one of the greatest to ever lace up for the game.
Unfortunately, Garrett has never been on more winning squads and will probably retire without any championships to add to his resume if he sticks with the Browns. Still, that does not detract from how dominant a player he has been throughout his career.
