For DE Myles Garrett, it’s not Lamar Jackson versus him; it’s the Browns vs the Ravens. And that is how it should be, considering it’s an opportunity for the Cleveland franchise to get back to winning ways before they go up against the Green Bay Packers, who are 2-0, and the reigning NFC North champion Detroit Lions. But then again, the Ravens QB is someone who deserves special attention.

After all, he isn’t just any QB; he’s a paradigm shift in cleats. “I wouldn’t say the rush rules are different, I would say they’re more emphasized,” Garrett explained, cutting to the core of the Jackson dilemma. The Baltimore QB, the 2023 MVP and owner of the most prolific rushing season by a quarterback in NFL history (over 1,000 yards in a season), is a true unicorn. “Obviously, he’s the most athletic quarterback we’ve ever seen… You gotta treat him like he can throw it like the best of ’em and he can run it like the best of ’em.”

For a pass-rusher of Garrett’s caliber, a man who has notched a staggering 104.5 sacks in his career and became the first player ever to reach 100 before his 29th birthday, the plan must adapt. The goal is simple: “So you’re not trying to match the hand. You’re trying to get his a– down.”

The complexity, Garrett notes, lies in the duality of Jackson’s genius. Preparation only gets you so far. “I mean, it plays to the predictability of his tendencies and where he wants to go with the ball and a bit to where he wants to escape,” he said, acknowledging that film study on the quarterback who just posted a 119.6 passer rating with 41 TDs to just 4 INTs in 2024 is vital. But then comes the twist, the element that defies all logic and preparation, whether it’s shoving a Bills fan or :

“But there’s just the inherent unpredictability about what he’s going to do with that athleticism.” This is the poetic terror of facing Jackson. You can know the play, but you can never truly know what art he will create with it in the moment. “Is he going to stay behind the line? Is he going to throw it? Or is he going to do like he did against the Bills and run 70 yards to get 19 yards? You just don’t know.”

Garrett’s intention against the Ravens’ birthday

This Sunday, that inherent unpredictability meets a very predictable emotion for Browns fans: a raw, three-decade-old wound. The Ravens’ organization is celebrating its 30th season. Back in 1996, former team owner Art Modell wanted to relocate his team to Baltimore, but ultimately left the team behind when he was granted a new franchise—the Baltimore Ravens.

It’s a birthday party Cleveland never wanted an invite to. Garrett, though a relative newcomer to the rivalry’s deepest roots, feels the weight of that history. “That’s usually an older crowd than I hang out with, but I do hear it every now and then when I go to get gas,” he said, connecting the past’s echoes to the present’s mission. “So yeah, I do understand the feelings and the motives behind people’s dislike of them, and I’m one with the city. So I try to carry that on my back when we go in there…”

His intention for this specific Sunday (that Shedeur is missing again) is therefore crystal clear: “I want to go out there and play spoiler, that’s about it.” This is more than a game; it’s a chance to defend civic pride on a stage meant for celebration. And Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year who opened 2025 with a dominant 2-sack, 4-tackle-for-loss performance, is the perfect man for the job.

His focus, however, extends beyond the historical narrative. The Ravens present a physical puzzle that has him locked in. He rattled off the threats: “Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, Ronnie Stanley, [Roger] Rosengarten… all those guys give me juice to go down there and play the very best ball.” He thrives on this stage, against the best competition, and the Ravens—“many pundits and critics saying that they’re the best team in the AFC” are the ultimate litmus test for a Browns team desperate to avoid a 0-2 start.

Supporting his teammates is part of that mission. When safety Grant Delpit made waves by stating Ravens star Derrick Henry “was not hard to tackle,” Garrett offered a nuanced but fiercely loyal perspective. “We got to go out there and prove it. Talk is cheap,” he stated. “I mean, (Henry is) a hell of a player. He’s a Hall of Fame talent, but go to go out there and have our guy’s back.” It’s a microcosm of the entire approach: respect the opponent’s prowess, but back your own without hesitation.

For Myles Garrett, it is simple. Lamar Jackson is the ultimate test. The Ravens’ celebration is the target. It all coalesces into a single, driving purpose: to walk into the birthday party and blow out the candles himself.