CLEVELAND — The Browns beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-27 on Sunday, and everyone in Cleveland is happy.
That includes star defensive end Myles Garrett, who praised his team's "resilience" and "toughness." However, that doesn't mean he was happy with everything that went on.
"The officiating was a travesty today," Garrett said in a quote that will likely get him fined by the NFL. "It was honestly awful."
According to Garrett, the referees missed a number of calls that should've gone against the Jaguars, everything from "hands to the face, holding, false starting." While he finished the afternoon with multiple pressures and a tackle for loss, he was adamant his stats "could've been more" if things were officiated fairly.
"This 'Hack-a-Shaq' crap's got to stop," a visibly frustrated Garrett told reporters. "You can’t just let a guy put his fingers in your face mask and push your head up or grab you by the back of your collar. ... It's got to be called fair both ways."
Despite being one of the league's most dominant defenders virtually since his debut, analysts have long noticed that offensive linemen tend to get away with rougher conduct when blocking Garrett. While the four-time All-Pro wouldn't necessarily say officials have "something against" him, at this point, he feels like it's "close enough" and that his anger over the situation has "built up" over time.
"If you watch the game and you see what was happening over there on the right end, you would understand," Garrett explained before referencing his already banged up shoulder. "If you saw how my shoulder looks right now — all red and beat up and looking like I got scratched by a couple of wild feral cats or something — you'd understand."
Even with Garrett seemingly not catching a break, the Browns were able to hold the Jags to under 300 yards of offense and get four sacks of quarterback Trevor Lawrence, although none of them went to Garrett. The secondary also recorded three interceptions despite being without Pro Bowler Denzel Ward for a third consecutive week.
Through it all, Cleveland is 8-5 and in good position for a playoff spot, something Garrett is obviously thrilled about. Still, it doesn't appear he's going to quit calling out poor officiating when he sees it.
"I've got a lot of respect for those guys, but we get scrutinized for the plays that we don't make," he said of the refs. "So someone has to hold them accountable for the plays or the calls they don't make, and they need to be under the same kind of microscope as we are every single play."