Myles Garrett Calls Himself The Closer After Dominant Three-Sack Performance Against Washington Commanders

Myles Garrett returns with a bang and declares himself the Rams’ closer.© Image via: X/@NFL_DovKleiman

Some players return quietly. Myles Garrett did not. The Los Angeles Rams defensive end walked back onto the field in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, after missing time with a knee injury, and he treated the Washington Commanders like a long overdue reunion. Three sacks and a forced fumble later, the Rams owned a 20-13 win, their third straight, and their first season record above .500. Garrett did not stop at the box score. He walked to the microphone and told the whole league exactly what role he plays for this Rams team.

Myles Garrett Turns The Los Angeles Rams Defensive Line Into A Closing Machine

The first sign came early. With 2:31 left in the second quarter, Garrett pressured Jayden Daniels off the edge and forced the Commanders quarterback to roll right. Garrett slipped a cut block from tight end John Bates and swatted the ball free. Omar Speights pounced on it. The Rams had fumbled two plays earlier, so the strip-sack flipped the mood of the game.

Aaron Donald lined up beside him, and the pair collapsed the pocket again and again in the fourth quarter. Donald drove rookie center Matt Gulbin backward, while Garrett bulled past right tackle Brandon Coleman for his second sack.

Afterward, Garrett made his case without a hint of modesty.

"I am that closer. So we don't need to look any further."

He explained where that belief comes from.

three sacks for this Myles Garrett guy https://t.co/RpsM3zwHyd

— NFL (@NFL) November 8, 2026

"Because I was born that," Garrett said. "Some people got it, some people don't. Some people have to train it to really amount to it. But I was born with that. I've only continued to hone it along the way."

Washington Commanders Fall Short As Garrett Answers His Own Penalties

The day was not spotless. Garrett jumped into the neutral zone twice, including a costly one late in the fourth quarter that set up third and five from the Rams' 38-yard line. Rookies wilt after a mistake like that. Veterans reset.

Garrett reset on the very next snap. He beat Gulbin, drove his facemask into Daniels' chest and shoved the quarterback back to the 50-yard line. That created fourth-and-17 at the two-minute warning. Trailing by a touchdown, Washington had to throw, and the pass fell incomplete.

That sequence shows why a true closer matters. When a team must pass, the rusher who wins one-on-one can end a drive alone. Los Angeles has gone looking for that kind of player all season.

"I wasn't worried," Garrett said. "I just made sure I won my rush and, hell, closed it out."

For Rams fans, the best news may come from Garrett himself. Even after a three-sack comeback, he said he is not close to his peak.

"I'm nowhere near where I want to be," he said.

The Rams now hold a winning record with half the season still ahead. If Garrett and Donald keep pressing together, opposing quarterbacks will have a very long second half.