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Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was not happy when NFL officials stopped the game to score Myles Garrett’s historic 23rd sack of the season during the team’s 20-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Taylor was furious with the stoppage, which came late in the fourth quarter with just over five minutes left, saying after the game that he was never told that game officials planned to stop the game if Garrett hit the target 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. (Joseph Maiorana/Imagn Images)
“There are 5 minutes left in our season. We are playing for our lives here and I was never told that we were going to stop the game and in a critical moment like this,” he told reporters after the match. “And the referees just said they made the decision to stop the match and they said they were trying to do it as quickly as possible – I didn’t feel that.”
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The Bengals were already officially eliminated last month after a 24-0 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15. Taylor nevertheless said the team played to win.
“We didn’t substitute. We’re trying to be on the ball and play with tempo, and the referee just held the ball so we couldn’t do anything. And I’m yelling at Joe [Burrow] to take the ball. We didn’t substitute, we go there and we couldn’t play.”
Taylor said that in the meeting with the referees before kick-off he was “never informed” of their plans.
Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns is carried by his 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)
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“Trying to get an answer wasn’t easy. They just said they made the decision as a team to stop the game if it happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened, they were just going to stop the game and let it happen.
“I was never informed. They didn’t say a word.”
Garrett entered the game needing a sack to surpass the 22.5 mark, shared by New York Giants great and Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt.
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor speaks during a press conference after an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati, Ohio, January 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)
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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 so hard. I knew they were going to make it difficult,” Garrett said. “I don’t think I saw more than three singles on a true putback the entire game. And I just knew if I did, I had to make that moment count. And the feeling couldn’t be better.”
