Myles Garrett looks to 'create those memories' against his hometown Cowboys in opener

BEREA — Myles Garrett grew up basically in the shadow of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. However, he's only rarely gotten a chance to play against his hometown team.

Still, Garrett can vividly recall what it was like growing up in the heart of Cowboys Country.

"I mean, grew up a fan, grew up in the blue and white," Garrett said Friday. "I wasn't the biggest football fan growing up, but I would make sure to sit there with my family, whether it was on Thanksgiving or throughout the week with my dad."

On Sunday, Garrett gets that rare chance that has eluded him throughout his career when the Browns open the season against the Cowboys. It's only the second time in his career he's faced Dallas, the other time coming in the COVID-impacted 2020 season

Garrett said he sees Sunday as not just an opportunity to open the season with a win, or a win over his hometown team. He sees it as a chance to add a family moment as well.

"I've got fond memories of watching this team, and so being able to play against this team and create those memories, not only for myself on the field, but seeing the smiling faces of my family afterwards, seeing my dad, seeing my parents," Garrett said. "That's what makes it special. Being able to share that with them, knowing that we've had these different memories and now they've kind of evolved into this. That's the kind of stuff that I cherish. I would cherish some great plays on Sunday, as well."

Garrett made some great plays the only other time he faced the Cowboys. He had three tackles, two sacks, one of them a strip sack that led to a Browns touchdown that gave them the lead for good in a 49-38 win.

The opportunity could be there again for Garrett to have a big game. Dallas will start a rookie first-round pick Tyler Guyton, out of the University of Oklahoma, at left tackle.

The prospects of the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year going against a tackle making his NFL regular-season debut would seem to be tilted heavily to one side. Garrett, though, said the 6-foot-7, 322-pound rookie has notches in his column going into the matchup.

“It's a new challenge," Garrett said. "Just as the league is new to him, he's new to us. We've got to prepare for what he brings to the game and the uniqueness that he provides. But his skillset set, as well as his attributes being a taller guy, being a little bit more mobile, athletic and moving pretty well and he's been able to go against a really good pass rusher over there in Dallas. So he's going to be prepared, but I offer a different flavor."

The Cowboys have a flavor of their own to throw at whomever is going to be starting for the Browns at left tackle with Jedrick Wills Jr. out. Defensive end Micah Parsons comes into the game as the betting favorite, at least at some sportsbooks, to take the crown from Garrett as Defensive Player of the Year.

Earlier this week, Parsons told Dallas-area reporters he acknowledges, not so much the award, but Garrett's presence. He compared it to other times he's faced off against great defensive players, such as the now-retired Aaron Donald or the Las Vegas Raiders' Maxx Crosby, by saying, "We kinda both know where we are."

Garrett, who matched Parsons with 14 sacks a year ago, welcomes the competition.

"I hope he wants to win," Garrett said. "He's a hell of a competitor. He is a great athlete and a great advocate for this game, so I want that kind of confidence and him striving for greatness. I wouldn't want him to say anything else. That makes me know that he's going to give 100% and let’s see if we can duke it out, let's see what happens.

"But it's not me playing against Micah. It's our teams playing each other, and at the end of the day [I] hope he does well, just not Sunday."

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Myles Garrett looks to 'create those memories' against his hometown Cowboys in opener