NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was not happy when NFL officials stopped play to mark Myles Garrett’s historic 23rd sack of the season in the team’s 20-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Taylor was enraged by the stoppage, which came late in the fourth quarter with just over five minutes remaining, and said after the game that he was never told that game officials planned to stop the game if Garrett reached the mark to become the NFL’s single-season sack leader.
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) sacks Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) during the fourth quarter at Paycor Stadium. The play set a new NFL single-season sack record by Garrett. (José Maiorana/Imagn Images)
“There are 5 minutes left in our season. We are playing for our lives here and they never told me we were going to stop the game at a critical moment like that,” he told reporters after the game. “And the referees just said they had made the decision to stop the game and said they tried to do it as quickly as possible – I didn’t feel that.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
The Bengals had already been officially eliminated last month after a 24-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15. Still, Taylor said the team was playing to win.
“We didn’t make any substitutions. We’re trying to get the ball and play with rhythm, and the referee just held the ball so we couldn’t do anything. And he was yelling at Joe. [Burrow] to catch the ball. “We didn’t make changes, we left and then we couldn’t play.”
Taylor said that in the meeting with the referees before the start of the match, he was “never informed” of their plans.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns is carried by teammates after the sack during the fourth quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on January 4, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
ZAC TAYLOR SURVIVES COACHING CAROUSEL AS BENGALS COMMIT TO ANOTHER SEASON DESPITE PLAYOFF LOSS
“Trying to get an answer wasn’t easy. They just said they had made the decision as a team to stop the game if that happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened, they were just going to stop the game and let it happen.
“They never informed me of that. They didn’t say a word.”
Garrett came into the game needing one sack to surpass the mark of 22.5, shared by New York Giants Hall of Fame great Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt in 2021.
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor speaks at a news conference after an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
With minutes remaining in the final game of the season, Garrett saw his opportunity with Burrow on first and 10 at the Browns’ 45-yard line.
“It was everything I expected. It was very difficult. I knew they were going to make it difficult,” Garrett said. “I don’t think I’ve seen more than three singles on a real putback in the entire game. And I just knew that if I did it, I had to make that moment count. And the feeling couldn’t be better.”
