Cleveland Browns defensive star Myles Garrett created history by registering his 23rd sack of the year to break the single-season record held by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt. After this astronomical feat, the New York Giants legend jokingly shared a salty remark as he was asked about Garrett after the Browns defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 20-18.

“I mean, I hold a record for the 16-game season,” Strahan said on FOX Sports. “They hold the records for the 17-game season as the way it works out. Look, you can’t compare records from 12-game seasons to 16-17-game seasons.”

Strahan had held, or shared, the NFL record for sacks in a single season since 2001 with a tally of 22.5, also at the age of 30. He was the sole owner of the record from 2001 to 2021, when Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt tied it. Then, in the second half of the Week 18 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Garrett recorded a sack of Joe Burrow, pushing his season total to 23.0 and claiming the record outright with mere minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

This new record could’ve been broken earlier if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense had given Garrett more chances to sack Aaron Rodgers. But that didn’t happen. After the game, Garrett said Rodgers was releasing the ball quickly, which didn’t give him enough time to get a sack in Week 17.

Nevertheless, Myles Garrett also ranks first in the NFL with 125.5 career sacks since entering the league in 2017, the most by a player in his first nine seasons during that span. Hence, despite his prior reaction, Michael Strahan had a praiseful message for the Cleveland star.

Strahan showers praise on Garrett after historic record

Immediately after his remarks about creating the sack record in 16 games, Michael Strahan was quick to praise Myles Garrett by explaining why this achievement is far more special and painstakingly more difficult for the 30-year-old as he plays on a Cleveland team that finished with a 5-12 record and missed the playoffs for the fourth time in the last five years.

“You don’t know how hard it is to do that on a team that isn’t always in the lead, a team that isn’t always competitive,” Strahan said. “I think that is the most amazing thing about it, he’s done it on a team where he’s the focus. He’s the guy that gets doubled and tripled every time, and it’s never stopped him from putting up numbers year after year.”

Strahan also shared how this is just the start for the Browns’ defensive end, as he still has a lot of football left in him.

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“This young man is amazing, absolutely amazing, and I know that he has so many more sacks left in him; he’s 30 years old,” Strahan said. “I think I had just as many, if not more, sacks after 30, as did Bruce Smith, as did Reggie White. I think he’s just getting going, he’s just finding his stride.”

Now, after securing the sack record, Myles Garrett will want to continue this dominance and finally help the Cleveland Browns reach the playoffs and have a deep run come next season.