Before the Bengals visited the Browns to start the 2023 regular season, Cincinnati receiver Ja’Marr Chase said, “Cleveland is Cleveland.”
In that game, Cleveland was clearly the better team, throttling their in-state rivals, 24-3, and setting the stage for a special season. Leading the charge for the Browns defense that day was defensive end Myles Garrett. He continued to play at a very high level all year long, and he is the PFT 2023 defensive player of the year.
It truly was a great year for Garrett. He finished with 14.0 sacks. He had 17 tackles for loss. He forced four fumbles. He was the heart and soul of the defense, if not the entire team. If not the entire city.
“You know, ‘Cleveland is Cleveland,’” Garrett told me after the Week 1 win. “Well, we’re going to make that a great thing instead of what they’re trying to make it out to be.”
The Browns finished as the No. 5 seed, despite starting five different quarterbacks. The defense made it easier to win with plenty of uncertainty on offense.
Garrett won the internal vote over Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, who made a late charge at toppling Garrett with 19.0 total sacks. Like Garrett, Watt was the best player on his team.
Others who appeared on the internal ballots include Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, cornerback DaRon Bland, and Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield, Jr.
Garrett becomes the fourth Brown to win one of the PFT awards 2023, joining coach of the year Kevin Stefanski, assistant coach of the year Jim Schwartz, and comeback player of the year Joe Flacco. On Saturday, Cleveland commences the quest for two prizes the team has never won — AFC Champion and, after that, Super Bowl winners.
Can they do it? They definitely can. First up, Garrett and company need to go back to Houston and win a single-elimination game against the Texans. It will not be easy — and it won’t get any easier, especially if the divisional round includes a trip to Baltimore.