Bengals coach fumes over referees' decision to stop play after Myles Garrett's record-breaking sack

Cincinnati Bengals caput manager Zac Taylor was not blessed erstwhile NFL officials stopped play to people Myles Garrett's historical 23rd sack of the play successful the team's 20-18 nonaccomplishment to the Cleveland Browns connected Sunday. 

Taylor fumed astatine the stoppage, which came precocious successful the 4th fourth with conscionable implicit 5 minutes remaining, saying aft the crippled that helium was ne'er told crippled officials planned to halt play if Garrett deed the people to go the NFL’s single-season sack leader. 

Cleveland Browns antiaircraft extremity Myles Garrett (95) sacks Cincinnati Bengals backmost Joe Burrow (9) during the 4th fourth astatine Paycor Stadium. The play acceptable a caller NFL azygous play sack grounds by Garrett.  (Joseph Maiorana/Imagn Images)

"There’s 5 minutes near successful our season. We’re playing for our lives retired present and I was ne'er told that we’re going to halt the crippled and successful a captious infinitesimal similar that," helium told reporters aft the game.  "And the refs conscionable said that they made a determination that they were going to halt the crippled and they said that they tried to bash it arsenic rapidly arsenic imaginable – I didn’t consciousness that." 

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The Bengals had already been officially eliminated past period aft a 24-0 nonaccomplishment to the Baltimore Ravens successful Week 15. Still, Taylor said the squad was playing to win.

 "We didn’t sub. We’re trying to beryllium connected the shot and spell and play with tempo, and the umpire conscionable held the shot truthful that we couldn’t bash anything. And I’m yelling astatine Joe [Burrow] to get connected the ball. We didn’t sub, we’re going and past we couldn’t play."

Taylor said that successful the gathering with refs earlier kickoff, helium was "never informed" of their plans. 

Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns is carried by teammates aft the sack during the 4th fourth of the crippled against the Cincinnati Bengals astatine Paycor Stadium connected Jan. 4, 2026 successful Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

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"Trying to get an reply was not easy. They conscionable said that they made a determination arsenic a unit to halt the crippled if that happened. I conjecture it didn’t substance erstwhile it happened, they were conscionable going to halt the crippled and fto it happen. 

"I was ne'er informed of that. They didn’t accidental 1 word." 

Garrett came into the crippled needing 1 sack to surpass the people of 22.5, shared by New York Giants large and Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers prima T.J. Watt successful 2021.

Cincinnati Bengals caput manager Zac Taylor speaks astatine a quality league aft an NFL crippled against the Cleveland Browns successful Cincinnati, Ohio, connected Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

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With minutes remaining successful the last crippled of the season, Garrett saw his accidental with Burrow connected first-and-10 astatine the Browns’ 45-yard line. 

"It was everything I expected. It was truthful tough. I knew they were going to marque it difficult," Garrett said. "I don’t deliberation I saw much than 3 singles connected a existent drop-back the full game. And I conscionable knew that if I did, I person to marque that infinitesimal count. And the feeling couldn’t beryllium better."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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