With just a couple of games left in the 2025 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Cleveland Browns in Week 17. And while Pittsburgh is pushing toward the playoffs and Cleveland is already out, the matchup still carries weight. Myles Garrett is closing in on the single-season sack record. And the Steelers know they could end up on the wrong side of history.

However, that’s not something Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell are interested in. The two running backs recently appeared on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, where co-host Hayden Walsh asked whether they shared the offensive line’s motivation to avoid giving Garrett a record-setting moment.

Warren answered immediately. “No.”

No hesitation and no debate. A beat later, Gainwell followed up with a little more clarity. “We definitely don’t want their record to be set on us, you know?”

When co-host Hayden Walsh shot the next question, “So, the running backs take it as serious as the offensive line though?” Gainwell hit back with a defensive “Oh yeah, better believe it” and was joined by Warren, saying, “Send that on us.”

Which naturally makes you wonder: What is the record that Myles Garrett is approaching in the first place? To put that in context, Garrett currently leads the league with 22 sacks. And now, he needs just half a sack to tie the NFL single-season record of 22.5, currently shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt, and just one full sack to surpass it.

Whether he gets there against Pittsburgh remains uncertain. What is clear, though, is that Warren and Gainwell, along with the Steelers’ offensive line, are motivated to keep Garrett away from the quarterback. Just like the Buffalo Bills managed to do in Week 16.

In that game, Garrett finished with just a half-sack in Cleveland’s 23–20 loss. In the process, he extended his streak to nine straight games with at least one takedown. Still, he walked away visibly disappointed, falling just half a sack short of the record.

“For my family. I wanted to get it for them, have some family show up. They felt like it was going to be the game in the moment, and so definitely want to give them something to smile about,” the edge rusher said after the game.

Now, the stage is set in Cleveland. Garrett is chasing history. The Steelers are trying to make sure they’re not remembered as part of it. And looming over everything is one final question. Will Garrett get to either Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph and break the record if the opportunity presents itself?

Will Myles Garrett get to either Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph

For now, it feels almost inevitable that Myles Garrett could make a serious push for the single-season sack record against the Steelers. But one key detail remains unresolved. Who will actually be under center for Pittsburgh? As of now, it’s still unclear whether the Steelers will start Aaron Rodgers or Mason Rudolph against Cleveland.

The reasoning is straightforward. Pittsburgh needs a win to secure its playoff spot. However, there’s also a scenario where the Steelers could clinch before even taking the field on Sunday. In Week 17, the Baltimore Ravens face the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night. If Green Bay beats Baltimore, the Steelers would not only lock up a playoff berth but also clinch the AFC North.

Under normal circumstances, Rodgers would be expected to run the offense. And yes, that would likely give Garrett a crack at history. But Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged during his weekly press conference that the outcome of the Ravens-Packers game could eventually influence personnel decisions. It can also include the possibility of turning to Rudolph. Though it’s not something he’s factoring in yet.

“It may. I hadn’t thought about it all, I actually just found out this morning that the game is on Saturday night,” Tomlin said. “But as I sit here and make plans today for tomorrow in an effort to lay a foundation to engineer victory, that’s something that’s of very little relevance to me today. I’ll have plenty of time to ponder those things after we get a little bit more solid about preparing ourselves to play the Cleveland Browns.”

Either way, the stakes remain the same. Garrett is chasing history. The Steelers are trying to protect their quarterback, whoever that may be. And whether Pittsburgh can keep Garrett from rewriting the record book is a question that won’t be answered until kickoff.