Myles Garrett made NFL history on Sunday with his 23rd sack of the seasonbreaking the coveted league record for most sacks in a single season.
When that happened, game officials allowed a stoppage of play for about a minute so Garrett could celebrate with his Browns teammates. The delay occurred at a critical time late in the fourth quarter of the game between Garrett’s Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals. Cleveland won, 20-18.
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For that, Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor was not happy. Neither does All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Taylor told reporters in his postgame news conference that the delay hampered the Bengals’ rushing offense as they tried to overcome a 17-12 deficit in the final five minutes of the game. The sack moved the Bengals to second and 16th near midfield.
Taylor: “The referee just held the ball”
“There are five minutes left in our season,” Taylor said. “We’re playing for our lives here, and I was never told that we were going to stop the game. And in a critical moment like that. And the referees just said that they made the decision to stop the game. And they said that they were trying to do it as quickly as possible. I didn’t feel that.
“We didn’t substitute. We try to be on the ball and play with pace, and the referee just held the ball so we couldn’t do anything.”
During the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was receiving the sack from Garrett, raised both arms in frustration after the play as the officials held on to the game ball instead of placing it for the next play. Garrett, meanwhile, was swarmed by his teammates to celebrate this feat.
Why did the officials allow the game to be delayed?
Taylor told reporters he contacted officials to try to get an answer as to why the game was stopped to allow the Browns to celebrate.
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“Trying to get an answer hasn’t been easy,” Taylor said. “They just said they made the decision as a team to stop the play when it happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened. They were going to stop the play and let things play out.
“I was never informed. They didn’t say a word.”
Ja’Marr Chase: Where is the flag?
Chase, meanwhile, wanted to know why officials didn’t throw a flag for the celebration as players left the Cleveland bench to congratulate Garrett on the field.
“I don’t think they could do that,” Chase said. “I never thought you could let the whole team get on your field. It’s like I catch my 10th pass and the whole team runs on the field. People get flagged. You can’t do that.
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“Kudos to him and all. But they need to report this play.”
When informed that Taylor said officials had always planned to stop play to allow for a celebration, Chase said he expected the same treatment for all of his professional accomplishments.
“Well,” Chase said. “They better stop the game when I do something behind my back.”
What should the officials have done?
Few individual records in football carry as much weight as the single-season sack record. This is a monumental achievement that deserves to be celebrated.
At the same time, the Browns have plenty of time and opportunity to celebrate. And the Bengals have a legitimate complaint that the game is not allowed to be played under the normal rules of the game.
