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Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was not happy when NFL officials stopped the game 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 shaken by the stop, 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 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 rushing record by Garrett. (Joseph Maiorana/Imagn Images)
“There’s 5 minutes left in our season. We’re playing for our lives out here and I was never told that we’re going to stop the game and at a critical moment like that,” he told reporters after the game. “And the referees just said they made a decision that they wanted to stop the game and they said they were trying to do it as quickly as possible – I didn’t feel that.”
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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 sub. We try to be on the ball and go and play with pace and the ref just held the ball so we couldn’t do anything. And I shout out to Joe [Burrow] to get on the ball. We didn’t sub, we go and then we couldn’t play.”
Taylor said that in the meeting with the referees before kickoff, 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)
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“Trying to get an answer wasn’t easy. They just said they made a decision as a crew to stop the game if it happened. I guess it didn’t matter when it happened, they just wanted to stop the game and let it happen.
“I was never informed about it. They didn’t say a word.”
Garrett entered the game needing one sack to surpass the 22.5 mark shared by New York Giants great and Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt in 2021.
Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor speaks at a press conference after an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Jan. 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 tough. I knew they were going to make it tough,” Garrett said. “I don’t think I saw more than three singles on a true drop back all game. And I just knew that if I did, I’ve got to make that moment count. And the feeling couldn’t be better.”
