Myles Garrett isn't placing any additional pressure on himself in his first trip back home since making it to the NFL.
Garrett, the Browns' fourth-year defensive end, grew up just a few miles from the spacious confines of AT&T Stadium. Playing close to home has always been a treat — he played at the stadium three times as a defensive stud at Texas A&M and once as a high school player — but he hasn't played in the building since becoming the first overall pick in 2017.
He knows it's a stadium built for big games, which the Browns have Sunday in a Week 4 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, but his approach isn't changing.
"Other than it being a Dallas game and for me to be able to go back home, I don't give it more importance than it is," Garrett said. "They're a good team, and we're a good team. We'll have to settle this, and that's how it is every week."
Garrett said he'll have a group of friends and family in attendance, but his eyes will be fixated on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. Prescott has thrown for 922 yards in the last two weeks. Elliott, meanwhile, has rushed for 219 yards and three touchdowns on the season.
A big game from Garrett could go far in stopping the Cowboys, who have averaged a staggering 490 yards per game through the first three weeks. No defense has figured out how to stop them, but no defense features a defensive end as versatile and quick as Garrett. His three sacks are tied for fifth-best in the league — he's just one sack behind Cowboys DE Aldon Smith — and he's already forced two fumbles this season.
Check out exclusive photos of the Browns preparing for their game against the Dallas Cowboys
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Head Coach Kevin Stefanski during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Andrew Sendejo (23) during practice on September 30, 2020
Center Nick Harris (53) during practice on September 30, 2020
Tight end Harrison Bryant (88) during practice on September 30, 2020
Quarterback Case Keenum (5) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back D'Ernest Johnson (30) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Joe Jackson (91) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) and Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Olivier Vernon (54) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Ronnie Harrison (33) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) and Cornerback A.J. Green (38) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Sione Takitaki (44) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Kevin Johnson (28) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Jovante Moffatt (35) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback A.J. Green (38) during practice on September 30, 2020
Tight end Austin Hooper (81) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back D'Ernest Johnson (30) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Jarvis Landry (80) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back Nick Chubb (24) during practice on September 30, 2020
Running Back Nick Chubb (24) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Olivier Vernon (54) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Sione Takitaki (44) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive end Myles Garrett (95) during practice on September 30, 2020
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (65) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Malcolm Smith (56) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive guard Wyatt Teller (77) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Michael Dunn (68) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive Coordinator Alex Van Pelt during practice on September 30, 2020
Offensive tackle Jack Conklin (78) during practice on September 30, 2020
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during practice on September 30, 2020
A referee during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Robert Jackson (34) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Ja'Marcus Bradley (84) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Rashard Higgins (82) during practice on September 30, 2020
Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (13) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Mack Wilson (51) during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Coach Jason Tarver during practice on September 30, 2020
Linebacker Jacob Phillips (50) during practice on September 30, 2020
Safety Ronnie Harrison (33) during practice on September 30, 2020
Cornerback Greedy Williams (26) during practice on September 30, 2020
Center JC Tretter (64) during practice on September 30, 2020
Want a scarier statistic? Garrett has 17 sacks in his last 16 games.
Garrett can change a game on one play, which he did last week against the Washington Football Team. He helped the Browns seal their win when he recorded a sack, forced a fumble and scooped the ball out of the air himself to give the Browns an additional possession that led to a field goal. The play came on Washington's last meaningful drive of the game and encapsulated all the potent outcomes Garrett can inflict on an offense.
Those are the kind of plays the Browns need Sunday. Garrett can deliver them.
"I'm just hoping that I make the plays that I'm supposed to make," he said. "When I get those opportunities, I either make them or push them to someone who has gotten freed up because I am getting off and I'm doing what I'm supposed to do by providing pressure, making the tackles, getting in the backfield and hopefully, creating takeaways for my team and giving us a chance to get a win."
Garrett is well aware of what a win Sunday might mean for Cleveland. Sure, it's only Week 4 and the Browns have a long road ahead, but a victory would give them their first 3-1 start to a season since 2001 and first victory against the Cowboys since 1994.
The game contains as much importance as a Week 4 NFC road game can possibly have. It's the stage the Browns wanted for their trip to Arlington, and while Garrett is happy to make a homecoming trip, he's keeping his sights set on what he's done every week: lead the defense.
"We're in a spot that I have heard 100 times that we have not been in for six years," he said. "Guys are kind of hungry to keep the success going. We're definitely going to try to leave out of their place with an L [for the Cowboys], no matter what we have to do within the rules and just play hard and play physical and just attack them and pressure them and make them win it."
