Myles Garrett’s next QB target is his old college teammate Kyle Allen

On Dec 3, 2022

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett deflects Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady's pass in overtime, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Cleveland.

HOUSTON — Kyle Allen has a simple request for his former Texas A&M teammate, Myles Garrett.

“Be nice to me,” the Houston Texans quarterback told reporters this week.

Garrett has heard the request of his fellow Aggie. The Browns defensive end is even willing to do for him what he wouldn’t for so many other quarterbacks in the league.

“Be nice to him?” Garrett said Friday. “You know, I’ll lay him down a little bit gentler than some others. He’s going in the graveyard, too.”

The two came into Texas A&M as part of the same 2014 recruiting class. They spent two seasons together with the Aggies before Allen transferred to the University of Houston and Garrett blossomed into an All-American and eventual No. 1 overall draft pick.

Now, their paths will cross again on Sunday when the Browns travel to play the Texans. Allen will be the “other starting quarterback” in what will be Deshaun Watson’s first regular-season game since he was the Houston quarterback on Jan. 3, 2021.

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips (15) grabs Houston Texans quarterback Kyle Allen (3) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Allen will be the third quarterback to start for the Texans since that day. Davis Mills started 21 of the 27 games before last week, when the fourth-year journeyman made his Houston debut in a 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins last week.

Now, in Allen’s second start, he’ll have to deal with one of the league’s best pass rushers. That’s not just Garrett, but also his counterpart on the other end of the Browns defensive line, Jadeveon Clowney.

“I played with Myles in college, so I know firsthand how good he is,” said Allen, who was 26-of-39 passing for 216 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against the Dolphins. “He’s only gotten better since then. The edge rushers are obviously really good. They’ve got a lot of stars over there. They’ve got a lot of good players. I think they pose a good challenge for us like last week. We’re going to work through it, get a plan together and get ready for them.”

Garrett is coming off a strong finish to last Sunday’s overtime win over Tampa Bay. He recorded 1.5 sacks, all of which came in the final three minutes of regulation or in overtime, as well as three quarterback hits and one tackle for loss.

The performance gave Garrett 10 sacks for the season, which are tied for fifth in the league. It’s the fifth consecutive year he’s topped double figures in sacks, and he’s one of seven players in NFL history to have at least 10 sacks in five of their first six seasons in the league.

That’s led to Garrett seeing more than his share of double teams, which he leads the league’s edge rushers in facing. He doesn’t expect that to change much in Houston.

“I mean, they’ve been chipping a decent amount this year as well,” Garrett said. “I think it will be something similar. They have a pretty good offensive line. I mean, Laremy Tunsil is a top-five guy. He’s very solid in what he does, very technically sound. I’m sure they’ll give me a chance to go one-on-one and maybe we’ll switch it up and see what we can do. Try to get some different looks and try to force some of those 5-0 looks.”

Garrett and Tunsil also have a lengthy history, dating back to when the former was at Texas A&M and the latter was at Ole Miss. It’s a rivalry that has carried into their matchups over the course of their pro careers.

A year ago, Garrett was held without a sack during a Week 2 win over Houston in Cleveland. He said afterward that he didn’t think he’d “ever been chipped so much” as he was in that game, which he said took away from the one-on-one matchup between he and Tunsil, who he holds in high regard.

“He’s athletic, definitely as far as tackles go,” Garrett said. “And he’s very good technically. Really what he does is he doesn’t get turned, he doesn’t get off balance a lot of the time. He stays square, doesn’t turn to the sideline, keeps his feet always underneath him so he doesn’t take a lot of bad losses through bull rushes and stuff like that.