Myles Garrett on pace to smash NFL sack record: Which QB will it come against?

Barring an injury, it’s likely a given that Myles Garrett will set the single-season sack record during the final six weeks of the 2025 season. 

Garrett now has a whopping 18 sacks on the year after taking Geno Smith down three times during the Browns’ Week 12 win over the Raiders. He has seven sacks over the past two weeks after he took Lamar Jackson down four times back in Week 11. 

After a somewhat slow start — he had only four sacks through the season’s first six games — Garrett has been virtually unstoppable over his last five outings. Over that span, he’s tallied 14 sacks that includes three games with at least three sacks. His five sacks against the Patriots in Week 8 is a career-high. 

The 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Garrett is now just four sacks away from breaking the single-season record sack that is currently shared by Steelers pass rusher T.J. Watt and Giants Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. Strahan broke former Jets standout Mark Gastineau’s 17-year-old record in 2001, and Watt tied his mark of 21.5 sacks in 2021. 

Single-season sack leaders

While the NFL did not make sacks an official stat until 1982, Pro Football Reference does have an unofficial list of the all-time single-season sack leaders that includes players who played prior to ’82. On their unofficial list, former Jets pass rusher Al Baker’s 23 sacks during the 1978 season remains the single-season record. 

Either way, it appears that Garrett is slated to break both the official and unofficial single-season record for sacks. He’s currently on pace to record nearly 28 sacks, which would obliterate anyone’s claim to the record. 

Which QB will be linked to Garrett? 

It would be poetic justice if Garrett got the record against Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback of Garrett and the Browns’ longtime rival, the Steelers. And while that is certainly a possibility, Garrett’s recent performances would suggest that he will have already broken the record by the time Cleveland hosts Pittsburgh in Week 17. 

Given his current success (Garrett is averaging 2.8 sacks per game over the past five weeks), there’s a very good chance that Garrett will get the record against either Titans rookie Cam Ward in Week 14, Bears second-year quarterback Caleb Williams in Week 15 or Bills perennial Pro Bowler Josh Allen in Week 16. My prediction is that it’ll come at home against Ward, given the fact that the Titans have allowed the most sacks in the NFL. 

This is assuming that Garrett won’t get the record this Sunday against the 49ers. And while it’s unlikely that he will break it against San Francisco, it definitely shouldn’t be ruled out, given Garrett’s recent production and growing stature as one of the greatest pass rushers in league history.