CLEVELAND, Ohio — Myles Garrett plans to prove Steelers’ receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster wrong on Sunday night.
In his Zoom conference on Wednesday, Smith-Schuster was asked if there’s a new and improved vibe about the Browns, who finished 11-5 this season and split the series with the Steelers to clinch their first playoff berth in 18 years.
“”Nah, I think they’re still the same Browns that I’ve played every year,” Smith-Schuster said. “I think they’re nameless gray faces. They have a couple of good players on their team. But at the end of the day … the Browns is the Browns. It’s AFC North football. They’re a good team. I’m just happy we’re playing them again.”
When Garrett was first asked about Smith-Schuster’s comments, he said “no comment.”
But asked if the Browns have proven they’re not the same old Browns, the defensive end said, “We’ll have to prove it when we see them on Sunday.’'
Garrett said the Browns are conceding nothing despite the fact they won’t have their head coach in Kevin Stefanski and a number of other key players because of COVID-19, including left guard Joel Bitonio, their longest-tenured player.
“Like Stefanski has always said to us, you don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your preparation,’' he said. “The way we’ve prepared and gotten ourselves mentally ready, whether it’s through Zoom or just working through it ourselves preparing at home physically on our own, it’s just how you how you treat yourself and how you prepare as a pro.
“Nobody’s going to sit here and tell you that we are counting ourselves out. These guys are hungry, and we are going to take it to them.”
He said the mindset heading in is the same as its been for every other game this season, despite not practicing on Wednesday and Thursday and despite eight players and five coaches still being out with COVID-19.
“Just win,’' he said. “You can’t have any other mentality. Anybody can be beat. It doesn’t matter who you have up. You’re paid to be a performer, no matter where you sit on the depth chart – first or third. You are paid because you are one of the best in the world at your job, and you need to step up and show that.”
Garrett stormed into the NFL in 2017 vowing to “chop down” Ben Roethlisberger, and it’s only fitting that his first career playoff game is against Big Ben in Pittsburgh, where the Browns haven’t won since 2003. Roethlisberger is also 23-2-1 against the Browns.
“It’s a hell of a challenge,’' Garrett said. “This is what we’ve all been looking forward to and I know I’ve been looking forward to it myself. The Steelers and the Browns have had history against each other so now, it’s just up to us to step up to the plate. They have to show up and play just like we do. Nothing is being taken for granted and nothing is going to be given to them. Anything we get, we’re going to have to take.”
Garrett, who battled the after-effects of COVID-19 in the final five games of the season after missing two games, believes fans will see the ferocious version of himself who tore up the NFL in the first nine games of the season, making game-changing sacks and strips on a weekly basis.
“Today at practice, I felt pretty good,’' he said. “I felt like I was flying around and I was moving well, and you will be able to see it on Sunday that I look like I did at the beginning of the season.”
After missing the postseason his first three seasons and being suspended the final six games of last season, Garrett can’t wait for the big night.
“It’s going to be some excitement,’' he said. “It’s going to be different from any other playoff game obviously because there aren’t many fans. It’s going to be a weight off my shoulders really to finally get here. I’m going to play like it is my last. It could be the very last opportunity I get. Not saying it will be because of our success, but you never know what’s in your future.
“You never know what could happen in the world or to us individually or to our family. I’m going to play like my hair is on fire and like I will never get another chance at it.”
Garrett was held sackless in the season finale against backup QB Mason Rudolph, but had one apparent strip ruled an incomplete pass. He also appeared a bit winded at times despite playing 78% of the snaps.
“Going back through watching film, they did some things differently,’' Garrett said. “They were mixing up some looks on the offensive line, I guess to slow me down a little bit and to try to keep me off balance, whether it was things with tight ends or backs. It was a combination of looks. You work through it, especially after getting them back to back. It’s nice to get another crack at them.”
Garrett is confident that he and the Browns’ other star players will come through in the game.
“Big players make those kind of plays on that stage,’' he said. “I feel like we have a lot of big-time players who have shown themselves throughout the season. I have no doubt that they will do it this game. They are going to show up and be flying around the field and making those plays that I know they can make.”
He’s hoping one of those big-name players in cornerback Denzel Ward is back for the game. He tested positive for COVID-19 last week before the season finale, but has a chance to return this game.
“He’s a hell of a player,’' Garrett said. “Guys do not like to throw it his way, and he makes plays whether they’re running to his side or throwing to his side. He’s a threat at any time. Glad to see him come back if we get them back and hoping he feels good and prepared to be on the field and answer the bell when he’s out there.”
Garrett appreciates being named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his career, but individual accolades aren’t foremost on his mind right now.
“We have bigger things in front of us,’' he said. “I couldn’t have done it without the guys on the line with me and the seven behind me. I’m hoping that we can continue to be successful together because that is the only way this was even possible.”
Smith-Schuster’s comments will undoubtedly help the Browns get their game faces on, but it’s nothing they haven’t heard before.
“We’ve been in that role all year,’' he said. “We have been in that role since I’ve been here. Nothing has changed. Our backs are against the wall, and we are going to fight out of it and fight off of it.”
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