There are few NFL players like Myles Garrett. Heck, there are few athletes like the Cleveland Browns edge rusher. Garrett’s shown he can wreck a game on any given Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts found that out the hard way during Sunday’s matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Stuck in a 14-14 tie with 10:15 left in the second quarter, the Colts lined Matt Gay up for a 60-yard field goal attempt on a 4th-and-18. It’s a tough kick to begin with, but the one factor the Colts likely didn’t consider was No. 95 waiting on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Once the ball was snapped, Garrett used his freakish athleticism to leap over the Colts’ offensive line and quickly hopped again just in time to extend his arms for the blocked kick, preventing three more points from being added to the home team’s scoreboard.
Then with the Browns trailing 21-17 with 1:47 to go in the second quarter, Garrett decided to help his team score instead of just preventing the other team from doing so. The Colts boldly trusted tight end Drew Ogletree to chip Garrett before handing him off to rookie right tackle Blake Freeland, who stood no chance.
Garrett blew past both blockers, stripping Gardner Minshew for the strip sack, leading to a recovered fumble for a Browns touchdown.
Garrett’s been having a phenomenal day in Indianapolis and already has six tackles, two sacks, the blocked kick, and two forced fumbles. He’s the first player since at least 2000 to have two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a blocked kick in a single game.
He was already among the NFL’s sack leaders coming into the day and now has 7.5 sacks this season. He’s a big reason why the Browns had the league’s fifth-ranked scoring defense coming into the day, helping them rank among Sportsnaut’s best defensive units this season.
Related: Cleveland Browns’ Deshaun Watson suffers injury less than one quarter into return