NFL Week 17 picks include Jaguars, Steelers and Niners
Lorenzo Reyes shares his three picks for NFL games through Christmas week.
Myles Garrett is on the precipice of making NFL history.
The Cleveland Browns defensive end has 22 sacks on the year, leaving him one away from breaking the league’s storied single-season record.
Garrett looked situated to set the record a week ago against the Buffalo Bills, but he netted just a half-sack – which was credited after a review – of Josh Allen in Cleveland’s close loss. Instead, the big breakthrough could come in Sunday’s game against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
USA TODAY Sports will have live updates throughout the day on Garrett’s pursuit of history, so check back for all the latest on Sunday:
The Browns ran three straight times to force the Steelers to use all three of their timeouts before an Andre Szmyt 33-yard field goal extended Cleveland’s advantage to 13-6.
Pittsburgh will get the ball back with 1:40 remaining and a chance to tie the game.
Four downs, four incompletions.
That was the output for Pittsburgh on a drive that might end the team’s hopes of securing the AFC North title this weekend.
Rodgers was pressured on second down by Garrett, and the quarterback’s fourth-and-10 was batted down at the line of scrimmage.
The Steelers still have all three timeouts, but Cleveland takes over at the Pittsburgh 20.
Aaron Rodgers led the Steelers to a field goal in a two-minute drill before halftime. Can he ace another crunch-time exercise to lead Pittsburgh to the end zone for the first time Sunday and a win that would secure the AFC North title?
Pittsburgh’s defense held firm to force a punt, but Corey Bojoquez boomed it 61 yards to leave the Steelers on their own 20-yard line.
With the Steelers needing to embrace the pass late, Garrett might have his bst opportunity all day of setting the sack record.
Myles Garrett might not see many more chances to set the sack record on Sunday. But his Browns are still clinging to a lead.
The Steelers ran the ball on all three downs of their latest drive. Despite giving up a 7-yard gain on first down, the Browns held firm and forced Pittsburgh to punt and give the ball back with less than five minutes remaining.
Cleveland looked to finally have jump-started its offense when rookie running back Dylan Sampson ripped off a 26-yard gain on first down. But a holding call on offensive tackle KT Leveston negated the play and put the offense in a hole it wouldn’t climb out of.
After coming up short on third down, the Browns punted to Scotty Miller, who returned it 25 yards to the Pittsburgh 43-yard line.
Another close call ended with Myles Garrett coming up empty-handed. But his threat helped Cleveland hold onto its lead.
After a false start on Steelers offensive tackle Dylan Cook pushed back Pittsburgh from a favorable third-and-1 setup, Garrett came screaming off the edge and nearly laid hands on Rodgers, who threw an incompletion to avoid a sack.
Pittsburgh opted to punt, putting Cleveland at its own 12-yard line with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Pittsburgh didn’t have to wait long to be rejuvenated after Chris Boswell’s missed field goal.
On second-and-5 at midfield, Shedeur Sanders threw off his back foot and airmailed an interception to Kyle Dugger, who patiently waited to haul in the pass intended for Jerry Jeudy.
The Steelers began the fourth quarter in prime position to take their first lead of the day. Instead, things quickly unraveled for Pittsburgh.
Having driven the ball to the Browns’ 27-yard line, the Steelers took a 4-yard loss on second down. On third down, Aaron Rodgers tried to maneuver in the pocket to buy time but was taken down by defensive end Alex Wright.
Then, Chris Boswell pushed his 54-yard field-goal attempt wide right, leaving Pittsburgh with nothing to show for a drive that ate up more than 8 minutes.
Myles Garrett had perhaps his best chance at Aaron Rodgers all day but still couldn’t notch that elusive 23rd sack.
Garrett found himself in Rodgers’ face on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter, but the quarterback dumped the ball off to Jonnu Smih for a 3-yard gain.
Rodgers flashed a smile at Garrett after the completion.
Cleveland managed to shave some precious time away in the third quarter, but the Browns don’t have much to show for it.
A seven-play, 18-yard drive melted away nearly six minutes. But Pittsburgh got the ball back at its own 22-yard line.
Aaron Rodgeres took his first sack on the day. But Myles Garrett wasn’t the one in on the play.
Safety Grant Delpit came on a blitz and managed to hit the quarterback, jarring the ball loose. It was plucked out of the air by Jonnu Smith, but the play still went down as a sack and fumble recovery.
Garrett did manage to come close to reaching Garrett on third down, but he couldn’t get a hold of the quarterback, who threw an incompletion.
DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin’s absences have loomed over the Steelers’ first half, but Mike Tomlin isn’t concerned about the outlook at wideout.
Tomlin said in a CBS halftime interview that the receiver rotation wasn’t playing a factor in the team’s offensive performance.
“We just need to get seven (points) instead of three,” Tomlin said.
With pressure to get points on the board before halftime, Aaron Rodgers delivered for the Steelers.
The quarterback completed three consecutive passes on the final drive before halftime and then threaded a 23-yard completion to tight end Pat Freiermuth. After a false start penalty on Zach Frazier, Rodgers found Adam Thielen for an 11-yard gain that set up a 40-yard Chris Boswell field goal.
The Browns enter halftime with a 10-6 lead.
Cleveland very nearly followed up one turnover with one that would have been even more costly.
Shedeur Sanders fired to his right on first down but nearly had his pass intercepted by edge rusher Nick Herbig, who couldn’t secure the throw for the interception.
The Browns still punted after a three-and-out, giving the Steelers – and Garrett – another opportunity before halfime.
Pittsburgh’s defense provided a big opportunity for Aaron Rodgers and he offense late in the second quarter.
On a first-and-10 near midfield, standout edge rusher Alex Highsmith barreled down on Shedeur Sanders and hit the quarterback, sending a pass into the air before it landed in the arms of rookie outside linebacker Jack Sawyer.
Sawyer returned the ball to the Cleveland 31, but Aaron Rodgers missed on a fourth-and-1 deep shot to Scotty Miller.
Pittsburgh’s third drive started off with plenty of promise, as Jaylen Warren scampered up the middle for a 15-yard gain to get the ball to midfield.
But two incompletions by Aaron Rodgers – one a missed deep connection with Marquez Valdes-Scantling on second down, another a would-be first down to Adam Thielen broken up by Tyson Campbell on third down – left the drive to stall out.
Garrett continues to be chipped and denied any easy paths to Rodgers on dropbacks.
Faced with a fourth-and-7 from the Steelers’ 33-yard line, the Browns decided to take a shot rather than go for a field goal in sloppy conditions.
Shedeur Sanders dropped back and tried to find Sal Canella for a first down, but his pass to the practice-squad call-up was low and never gave the tight end a shot.
After a questionable offensive pass interference penalty threatened to end the Steelers’ second drive in the early going, Pittsburgh was given new life with a taunting penalty on Browns safety Rayshawn Jenkins.
The Steelers managed to get the ball to the Browns’ 19-yard line, but a 6-yard loss by Kenneth Gainwell and incomplete pass on third down left Pittsburgh to settle for a 44-yard Chris Boswell field goal.
Pittsburgh has thrown plenty of resources at slowing Garrett, who has been quiet outside of one tackle.
The Browns built on their early lead with an unlikely scoring connection.
Shedeur Sanders lofted a ball up on second-and-8, but it looked to be off the mark. Rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr., however, contorted his body to corral a pass that was thrown inside and then rolled into the end zone untouched.
Fannin appeared to be shaken up on the play, however. He entered the game as questionable with a groin injury.
Though Garrett’s pursuit of sack No. 23 is probably the most notable league benchmark under fire, several other star players are chasing their own spots in the record book — the 49ers’ Christian McCaffrey with a shot at two of them. Here are seven more team and individual records that could fall over the next two weekends.
Garrett didn’t get a chance to chase down Aaron Rodgers and the opening drive, but Cleveland held firm.
The Browns sent the Steelers to a three-and-out after stuffing Kenneth Gainwell on a third-and-3 run.
Myles Garrett will take the field with a lead.
After going 41 yards on nine plays, Cleveland capped its first drive with a 50-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt.
Myles Garrett has put plenty of quarterbacks in his graveyard throughout his career, but he’s yet to bag Aaron Rodgers.
Doing so Sunday would give him the single-season record, and the weight of the moment isn’t lost on Garrett.
“It’d be a historic moment, not only for us as a team,” Garrett said in a pregame interview with CBS on Sunday.
Added Garrett: “They’re not stopping me today.”
Pittsburgh won’t be taking Sunday’s game lightly after all.
With the Baltimore Ravens’ win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, the Steelers need a tie or a win against the Browns to secure the AFC North. Otherwise, Pittsburgh’s matchup with Baltimore next week would be a winner-take-all affair.
The Ravens, including tight end Charlie Kolar, are holding out hope that the Browns will deliver for them.
Garrett was held without a sack in his first meeting against Rodgers and the Steelers, marking just one of three instances in which he has been blanked this season. But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged that replicating that effort in Cleveland will be difficult.
“Myles Garrett has certainly been an issue for us in that venue,” Tomlin said. “I think he’s had five sacks against us in our last two trips, neither of which we won. And so we understand the gravity of what we’re going into and how they engineer victory and who’s significant in doing so. He’s at the doorstep of history, and so we certainly have respect for that.”
For his part, Garrett wasn’t concerned about eclipsing the record on Sunday.
“Pressure? Nah, no pressure,” Garrett said Dec. 26. “Like I said, it’s going down, so I’m not stressed or worried about if I’m going to get it. It’s just a matter of when.”
Corralling Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP, for the first time would be a fitting way to put himself over the top, Garrett said.
“It would be special,” Garrett said. “He’s legendary himself and it’s a legendary record I’m out here chasing, so that’d be a great one to put a picture on the wall with.”
The Steelers will be without their top two receivers in DK Metcalf, who is serving a two-game suspension for his physical altercation with a Detroit Lions fan, and Calvin Austin III, who is out with a hamstring injury. Offensive guard Isaac Seumalo is also sidelined with a triceps injury.
But Rodgers has made life hard for all pass rushers, as his lightning-quick release – reflected by an NFL-best 2.63-second time to throw average, according to Next Gen Stats – has enabled him to be pressured on just 21.9% of his dropbacks, the lowest figure of all 33 qualified passers in 2025. On the season, he’s been sacked just 25 times.
While the single-season mark is well within reach, Garrett still has a way to go before he can reach Bruce Smith’s career tally of 200, which still stands as the league’s high water mark.
Yet toppling that sum isn’t a farfetched notion to Garrett.
“If I want to play that long,” Garrett said Dec. 26 when asked whether he could shatter the career record. “I think at the pace I am now, I can get it in like five years. I think five years is right at that time to think I’ll go and hang the cleats up. So I do think about if I can do it. And I think I’m only getting better, I think the numbers will only continue to look similar to how they are right now. So I’ll be knocking on his door pretty soon. I used to have the little graveyard that he did a couple years back, he had all these graves and everyone to show me up, but it’s OK, I’m going to catch him.”
Smith has made it known he’s a big fan of Garrett’s.
“He is rare,” Smith told USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell earlier in December when asked about Garrett. “It’s the way he bends. He’s got the patented move where he gets off the line of scrimmage quicker than anybody, particularly for that size, when he gets in arm’s-length reach of an offensive lineman, he bends. He ducks under the stab of the offensive lineman, and he’s still able to get leverage. It virtually makes him unblockable.”
Hall of Famer Michael Strahan first set the record in the 2001 season. He was matched by Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt in the 2021 regular-season finale. While Watt had the benefit of an 18-week season, he only played in 15 games that year, missing two contests and part of another due to injury.
- Sacks: 22
- Tackles: 58
- Forced fumbles: 3
