In what felt like a significant game for the overall temperature of an inconsistent operation, the Cleveland Browns overwhelmed the Miami Dolphins 31-6 on Sunday.
With an interception return for a touchdown by Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell on the first play of the second half, the Cleveland defense put its stamp on things and pretty much knocked out a Miami team that didn’t do much punching back.
For the Browns and their frustrated best player, defensive end Myles Garrett, it was the get-right game that everyone needed. For Garrett specifically, it provided the kind of game script for pass rushers that he has openly discussed as both desired and necessary. With the Dolphins down and largely hopeless, Garrett and the Cleveland defense teed off as part of the Browns moving to 2-5 and snapping a three-game losing streak.
A week after Garrett said every loss feels the same and then followed up by saying he wished the Browns’ offense had run more last week in Pittsburgh, Garrett’s postgame words Sunday were of the more positive variety.
Playing dominant defense is the only hope the Browns have of salvaging something of this season and changing the team’s overall outlook, so the vibe from the home locker room after picking off Tua Tagovailoa three times and sending the 1-6 Dolphins to their third straight loss was one of relief and reinforcement.
The Cleveland defense thinks it can be the best unit on the field every single week.
“You get a lead and (you’re) thinking, ‘Let’s pin the ears back and let’s go hunt,’” Garrett said. “It’s nice. We haven’t had that all year. And you don’t want to make the game close if you don’t have to.
“With all that coming together in that fashion, that’s exactly what we want. We have to continue to strive for that.”
Garrett got a sack to force a Miami punt on the series following Campbell’s interception. It was 24-6 then and felt long over, but the Browns kept making splash plays. In the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa was replaced by rookie Quinn Ewers, and the home team ended up with four sacks and four forced turnovers.
Garrett, a six-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro, hadn’t posted a sack since Week 3. Last week, he was held without a sack, tackle for loss or quarterback hit for just the sixth time in 123 career games in a 23-9 loss to the Steelers. So, like his team, Garrett came to this game hungry to turn things around.
The Browns deployed Garrett at various spots across the formation, more than normal, and that was part of a successful plan to keep the Dolphins guessing and force Tagovailoa to consistently deal with different rushes.
“Not knowing where to expect me, that scares the hell out of an offensive coordinator,” Garrett said.
With rookie running back Quinshon Judkins turning two of Miami’s turnovers into short touchdown runs, the Browns put this away early. Judkins finished with 84 rushing yards and three touchdowns as Cleveland scored more than 17 points for the first time since Week 13 of last season. Though the defense’s heavy lifting and theft of three passes made it largely irrelevant, the Browns’ offense didn’t go over 150 yards until the fourth quarter.
Despite finishing with 31 points, a Cleveland team that came in averaging just 4.1 yards per play on the season saw that number go down Sunday after it averaged 3.9 yards against the Dolphins.
The Cleveland offense still stinks out loud. The defense is good enough to make the Browns a headache-inducing opponent, especially in Cleveland. And on a day when the wind howled from various directions and the rain that started around 75 minutes before kickoff didn’t let up until halftime, the conditions were perfect for the Browns to get right by following a basic formula.
Their basic formula.
Defense first, forcing turnovers, then a bunch of straight-ahead runs. Build a lead, feature Judkins, then — finally — let Garrett and the pass rush go seal it.
“Those guys were flying around on defense,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “Really proud of that effort.”
Garrett spent the final month of last year’s 3-14 season telling the truth about the state of the Browns’ roster. He was setting up a trade request, which came in early February and was accompanied by a Super Bowl week media tour during which Garrett repeatedly said he was done with the team and wanted to play for a contender.
That lasted all of four weeks. Garrett signed an extension worth more than $122 million in March, a deal that pays him more than $40 million per year. He chose to take the money and return to the team he’d repeatedly and accurately pegged as not good enough, so no one is feeling sorry for him.
It’s just that most of 2025 has felt like last year on repeat. And — twice a week every week — Garrett repeatedly gets asked questions about what he thinks the offense could do better, if the defense is frustrated by the offense’s failures and how he wishes the team would handle certain things. With that big paycheck comes a big stage, and Garrett’s words carry a lot of weight.
“I’m always going to tell it how it is,” Garrett said. “That’s just my nature. I’ll shoot you straight.
“I’m not trying to disparage anybody or trying to get anybody removed from their position or anything like that. I want everybody here to be a benefactor to our success. It all came together today. I hope we can continue to rally around everything we’ve been talking about and I’ve been talking about.”
The Dolphins in the second half had one significant drive, a 12-play, 64-yard series that got to the Cleveland 35 before Tagovailoa threw short of the sticks with Garrett closing quickly and Grant Delpit making the drive-ending tackle. On their other six second-half possessions, the Dolphins totaled three first downs and threw three interceptions. Two of those first downs came on the game’s final possession after both teams had removed key starters.
Now with 107.5 sacks in his career, Garrett is positioned to pass Hall of Famer Reggie White (108) for the most sacks by a player under 30. Garrett, who turns 30 in late December, became the youngest player to reach 100 career sacks last season and now has five on the year as part of his chase to reach at least 14 for a fifth straight season.
Garrett knows he’ll be watched closely by opposing quarterbacks and coordinators. He knows folks both inside and outside the Browns will listen closely when he speaks. And he knows if he’s going to keep reaching personal milestones and if the 2025 team wants a faint hope of making something of this season, the defense has to keep driving things.
Sometimes, winning is just deodorant. Sometimes, one win can launch something greater. Whatever this one was, the Browns are glad they got it.
“Hopefully, we’ve gotten tired of the losses and the pain that comes with them that we’re ready to inflict it on someone else,” Garrett said. “You gotta use that pain, use that drive. Today was a good response, but it’s gotta continue.”