Garrett breaks record in loss

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Myles Garrett had already broken his own Cleveland Browns sack record, and he didn’t want to stop.

“I don’t care how much time is on the clock: If there’s a chance we can win, I want to be a part of that,” the All-Pro defensive end said after watching from the sideline as the New England Patriots ran out the clock in a 32-13 victory over Cleveland on Sunday.

“I don’t care how dire the situation looks. I’m going to try and make something happen,” Garrett said. “I hate to come out in those situations. I hate that kind of inevitability and not being able to do anything about it. Because I want to win.”

Garrett sacked the Patriots’ Drake Maye five times for a total loss of 33 yards on Sunday; on one of them, Garrett also forced a fumble.

But the Browns lost their 12th straight road game.

“Committing two people to him, and him still affecting the quarterback, is obviously impressive,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. “Just size, speed, athleticism … it’s impressive, and it’s hard.”

Garrett has 10 sacks this season — his eighth straight season with double digits — with nine games to play. (His career high is 16, in both 2021 and ’22. ) His 112 1/2 sacks are the most for a player under the age of 30, surpassing the 108 by Reggie White (who played until he was 39 and finished his career with 198).

Garrett is the 20th player since the stat became official in 1982 with five or more sacks in a game.

But he’s only the fourth to lose when doing it.

“I would throw the whole performance away for a win,” he said.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2017 draft out of Texas A&M, Garrett is a four-time All-Pro and the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. After the Browns won three games last season, the 6-foot-4, 272-pound defensive end requested a trade but wound up signing a four-year, $204.8 million contract extension.

He arrived in New England with 13 quick pressures (allowed in under 2.5 seconds), tied for fifth most in the NFL. But he has expressed his frustration with the team’s direction, saying he was embarrassed and “frustrated as hell.”

Heading into their bye week with a 2-6 record that is last in the AFC North, Garrett said his advice to teammates would be, “Don’t quit.”

“Keep your head up. We’ve just got to find something, some kind of remedy for this,” he said. “I see a young team that’s fighting. We’ve all got to help each other. No one on the outside is going to help us. No one’s going to come in with a magic cure-all. So we have to rally together and find the best way to win.”

The previous Browns record was the 4½ sacks Garrett had against the Chicago Bears in 2021. But on Sunday he took advantage of Patriots’ first-round draft choice Will Campbell, who entered the game allowing a team-high 27 pressures on 253 pass blocks this season.

Vrabel said it was a tough assignment for the rookie.

“We’re trying to chip him, and he ‘Gumbys’ around one guy and then speed bursts the other guy,” the Patriots coach, a former linebacker, said. “He’s just an elite athlete with a tremendous skill set. … He certainly impacts a lot of football games.”

Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers fall short

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Jordan Love passed for 360 yards and three touchdowns to outduel former mentor Aaron Rodgers as the Green Bay Packers raced past the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-25 on Sunday night.

The 41-year-old Rodgers, who won four MVPs and a Super Bowl in 18 seasons with the Packers before the team moved on to Love in 2023, completed 24 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two scores but did little in the second half as the Steelers (4-3) dropped their second straight.

Drafted in 2020 to be Rodgers’ eventual successor before being elevated to the starter three years later, Love put together a near-flawless second half as Green Bay (5-1-1) stayed atop the NFC North.

The 27-year-old Love, who credits Rodgers for playing a pivotal role in his development, did a solid impression of Rodgers in his prime, particularly after halftime. Love completed his first 16 passes after the break, two of them for scores, as the Packers erased a nine-point deficit to win at Pittsburgh for the first time since 1970.

Tight end Tucker Kraft caught seven passes for a career-high 143 yards and two touchdowns. Josh Jacobs ran for just 33 yards, but his 3-yard scoring sprint on the first play of the fourth quarter put the Packers up for good as Pittsburgh’s defense stumbled yet again, nine days after being carved up by Joe Flacco in a loss at Cincinnati.

Wearing throwback jerseys honoring Pittsburgh’s inaugural team in 1933 — when the club was known as the Pirates — the Steelers turned back the clock in a way that felt less like nostalgia and more like “here we go again.”

Given an opportunity to strengthen its hold on the underwhelming AFC North, Pittsburgh instead saw the NFL’s highest-paid defense struggle to keep Love and the Packers in check. The Steelers allowed 454 yards and failed to create a turnover for the third straight contest.

Rodgers said repeatedly that he wasn’t looking for revenge against his old team, and he plans to one day retire in the town where he cemented his status as a future Hall of Famer.

There was a loud pop from the Acrisure Stadium crowd when Rodgers was introduced, including from the not insignificant number of Green Bay fans who made their way inside.

Though there was the occasional flash from Rodgers, who has played well during Pittsburgh’s respectable start, the Steelers too often saw drives bog down once they crossed midfield. While Chris Boswell bailed them out by booting four field goals, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with Green Bay once Love got rolling.

The Packers scored on five straight possessions after the Steelers went up 16-7. Love connected with Savion Williams on an 8-yard score to pull Green Bay within two.

Jacobs’ touchdown gave the Packers the lead for good. After Micah Parsons sacked Rodgers to thwart Pittsburgh’s ensuing drive, Kraft hauled in his second score on a 24-yard catch-and-run in which the 260-pounder had no trouble weaving his way through Pittsburgh’s injury-marred secondary.

By the end, Rodgers and the Steelers were trying to play catch-up while Rodgers heard the familiar chant of “Go Pack Go,” only to find himself on the wrong side of it for the first time in his 21 years in the league.