CLEVELAND, Ohio — Myles Garrett knows good offensive tackles better than just about anyone.
The reigning NFL defensive player of the year has sparred with the best of the best over the years. He knows their traits, and what makes them special.
So when he complimented the play of Browns starting right tackle Jack Conklin after Cleveland’s 27-14 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, he knows what he’s talking about.
”I mean, when he’s been on the field and feeling good, he’s definitely one of the very best in his position," said Garrett.
In two starts this year against Pittsburgh, Conklin did not give a sack up to star pass rusher T.J. Watt, and Cleveland avoided him wrecking either game.
In the first one, a 24-19 win for Cleveland on Thursday night football, Watt finished with four tackles and didn’t touch Winston. He was credited with two pressures by Pro Football Focus.
In the rematch on Sunday, a 27-14 loss for the Browns, Watt again had four tackles. He had two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss, making a big run stop against Nick Chubb on the Browns' first play from scrimmage for a loss of 5 yards. PFF credited Conklin with allowing one hit and two hurries.
“A lot of help throughout the game, but when it came down to it, it was team effort blocking him,” Conklin said. “But when I had to ‘bow up, I felt like I did a good job and he is a great player and I think it’s the first time the two of us played two games against each other in a season, between my injuries and his injuries. So it was fun to be able to play him twice in three weeks like that.”
The injury part has been key for Conklin, who worked his way back from a devastating knee injury that he suffered in Week 1 of the 2023 season against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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Cleveland Browns vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, December 8, 2024
“It was ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus, so it was the whole shebang,” Conklin said over the summer about just how bad the injury was.
Conklin, 30, never thought his career was in jeopardy even with the severity of the injury. But the fact that he has been able to play in and start eight of Cleveland’s 13 games so far this season has been a bright spot amidst a 3-10 record.
And his work to get back to this point is really on full display when he’s able to do what he’s done against a player of Watt’s caliber.
“We’re just happy to have him back and healthy,“ Garrett said. ”T.J.‘s elite in his position. He’s an animal. We definitely had some help for Jack, but the times when we didn’t, Jack stood in there and was game for the challenge.“
Throughout these two games, the Browns did give Conklin some chipping help with running back Jerome Ford and tight ends David Njoku and Jordan Akins.
But even without chipping help, as Garrett said, Conklin held his own. Head coach Kevin Stefanski agreed.
“It was two good performances versus a great rusher,” he said. “There’s times when you help your tackles versus that team. There’s times that you don’t, and I thought Jack really did well even when he was singled up. Where he’s come to this point from where he was with his injury, I think is pretty impressive.”
It’s an assignment that is especially difficult given Watt’s history against the Browns.
This was just the third time in 14 matchups against the Browns that Watt didn’t register at least half a sack. Watt has 17 sacks in his career against the Browns, tied for the most against any opponent. His 17 sacks against the Ravens have come in one more game.
For Conklin’s O-line teammates, it’s been great to see that kind of payoff after seeing him work so hard to return to the field at all.
“Not only is he a good player, but he is also a great teammate," right guard Wyatt Teller said. “Even when he was going through all that, he was still coaching the guys, still always in the meetings, always talking, always communicating what’s going on. He was never out of it or took himself out or anything like that mentally.”
According to PFF, Conklin has allowed four total sacks this year and 27 total pressures. He’s got a 95.5 pass blocking efficiency percentage.
If you’re looking for a bright spot this season, his performance has certainly been one of them.
He thinks so, too.
“I’ve felt great really this whole season since I’ve been back,” he said. “I’ve felt really good and each week it kind of calluses, back in just feel like crap during the week. But that’s every year. By Sunday I feel good.
“And this year I feel great. I feel like I’ve played some of the best ball I’ve played, frankly, in my career and just got to keep it rolling.”
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