Cleveland, OH – The Cleveland Browns clinched a playoff spot for the second time in four seasons with a hard-fought 24-10 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday night. But the celebration was bittersweet for All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett, who revealed after the game that he nearly missed the contest altogether following the tragic death of his uncle on Christmas night.
“I kind of left it up to my mother and if she needed me, I’d have been gone in a second,” Garrett explained in the postgame locker room. “Football is great. I love this team, I love the Browns, but I only got one mom. I’m hopefully going to have many more games, many more years, but there was only one CJ, and there’s only one mom. If she needed me, I’m always going to be there for her, just like she is for me.”
It was an emotional week for the star pass rusher, who understandably had trouble focusing solely on the Jets with his family tragedy so fresh. But his mother encouraged him to take the field, perhaps knowing how special the moment was for the long-struggling Browns franchise.
Garrett suited up and turned in a vintage performance, sacking Jets quarterback Joe Flacco for his first takedown in five games. His disruption up front was a key factor in holding New York to just 10 points. After the final whistle, however, Garrett couldn’t fully revel in the playoff-clinching victory with his grieving so near.
“Getting this off my chest is kind of like the best medicine,” Garrett told reporters, wanting to explain why he seemed withdrawn. “I also didn’t want my teammates, if they saw me walking off the field, to feel like I wasn’t proud or happy of what we accomplished and achieved tonight.”
Garrett has been the foundation of Cleveland’s defensive turnaround over the past few seasons. His 16 sacks lead the league this year, and he has established himself as one of the most dominant defenders in the NFL today. But Garrett didn’t want his teammates to think he wasn’t appreciating their special season.
“It’s not indicative of how I truly feel, because I love this moment and how far we’ve come and how far we plan to go,” he said. “But I just feel like this was more of a message to them than to you all.”
From their disappointed faces in the locker room afterward, it was clear Garrett’s teammates felt the pain of their leader and brother in arms. This Browns squad seems like a close-knit group that leans on each other through adversity. They now have a chance to honor Garrett’s uncle in the best way possible: making noise in the postseason.
Cleveland will likely have to go on the road in the Wild Card round against an AFC North rival like the Baltimore Ravens or Cincinnati Bengals. But first, they’ll close the regular season at home against Pittsburgh. You can bet Garrett’s teammates will have his back as he grieves the tragic loss of his uncle while trying to make this a January to remember in Cleveland.
