Myles Garrett's Defensive Player of the Week snub reveals unexpected trend

For the second time this season, Cleveland's superstar gets overlooked after a memorable performance.

Nov 16, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) is sacked by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during the first quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Myles Garrett’s season for the Cleveland Browns has been nothing short of spectacular, by almost any standard.

Nonetheless, there might be some that seemingly are still not impressed enough.

Andrew Siciliano, the play-by-play announcer for the National Football League's Cleveland Browns Radio Network, noted an interesting quirk, in relation to a couple of Garret’s best performances so far in the season.

In Week 8, Garrett annihilated the New England Patriots’ pass-protection, collecting five sacks off of Drake Maye during a 32-13 loss. However, Jordyn Brooks, linebacker for the Miami Dolphins, was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Week in that instance. This game is still standing as the match with most sacks by a single player this season.

Fast-forward to Week 11, when Garrett obliterated the Baltimore Ravens O-line to the tune of four sacks, including one highlight-worthy play where he threw right tackle Roger Rosengarten with one arm like he was a rag doll before taking down Lamar Jackson. Surprise! Miami’s Brooks once again captures AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. This performance has Garrett tied with two other players for the second most sacks in a game this season, one of his Week 8 outing.

Myles Garrett is passed over by Dolphins LB Jordyn Brooks for AFC Defensive Player of the Week AGAIN.

Brooks won this week despite Garrett's 4 sacks.

Brooks won in Week 8 when Garrett had 5 sacks.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 19, 2025

Let’s be clear. Brooks is a fine player. One sack, 10 tackles including three for a loss and one hit on the quarterback is a nice statline against the Falcons for Week 8. And, 20 total stops in Week 11 against the Commanders is very uncommon.

Nevertheless, Garrett’s play has been on another level, which is why he is the heavy betting favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year honors with most Sportsbooks placing him in the -285 to -335 range.

The only logical explanation for Garrett’s snubs during these two weeks is that the Browns lost both games. So, the fact that no matter how disruptive Garrett has been individually, the team not being able to take advantage of his play has definitely hurt him.

On the other hand, while Brooks plays for a 4-7 team that actually lost to Cleveland already, the Dolphins managed to win their Week 8 and Week 11 contests.

Just incredibly good timing? Could very well be.

In any case, Garrett has been red hot lately. He’s already notched 15 sacks, one shy of his personal record of 16 set in 2021 and tied in 2022. If he keeps his current pace, though, he would end up with 25.5, enough to shatter the previous season record of 22.5 set by Michael Strahan in 2001, and subsequently tied by T.J. Watt in 2021.

While 25.5 sacks in one season, even a 17-game season, sounds far-fetched, one’s got to wonder -- with the way things are going for Cleveland’s offense -- if even that total would be insufficient for Garrett to reclaim the Defensive Player of the Year Award he won in 2023 against players whose contributions are better exploited by their team.