CLEVELAND (AP) — Myles Garrett didn't want an apology from T.J. Watt.
Instead, he demanded respect.
Garrett showed Watt why he's the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, recording three sacks in a dominant first half that set the tone for Cleveland's shocking 24-19 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night.
It was the kind of performance Garrett had numerous times last season, when he was voted the league’s top defensive player over Watt, the Pittsburgh edge rusher who had more sacks and seemed to have an issue with finishing second. Watt won the award in 2021.
On the night Garrett received the award, Watt posted on social media, “Nothing I’m not used to.” The post received 5.5 million views.
Earlier this week, Garrett responded to Watt’s slight by saying, “I’ve never complained about the trophy not being at my house and vice versa.”
Garrett felt disrespected and took it out on the Steelers.
“I was really focused on going out there and playing the very best ball I could,” Garrett said. “But, yeah, I wanted to make it known that I'm the guy. I'm the No. 1 edge defender. That was a statement I was intending to make, and I think I made.”
After Garrett ended the first half with his third sack of Wilson, Browns teammate Ogbo Okoronkwo mimicked putting a crown on Garrett's helmet.
“You don't want to put a chip on Myles' shoulders,” Browns quarterback Jameis Winston said. “Because he will go off.”
Garrett's three sacks gave him 10 this season. He's the only player in the league with double-digit sacks the last seven years.
Watt didn't get a sack and finished with four tackles as the Steelers dropped consecutive games to the Browns for the first time since 2000.
“It is very deflating,” said Watt, who did not address his rivalry with Garrett. “We need to close out games and we were not able to do that. It sucks that we couldn't hold on, but a loss is a loss.”
The Steelers struggled to find a way to stop Garrett, who was reluctant to give any of his secrets.
“I can't tell you because it might be used against me next time,” Garrett said with a smile. “We see them in two weeks. Let me go ahead and say it was tough and keep it at that.”
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, left, greets Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) after an NFL football game, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. The Browns won 24-19. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) dive for a fumble in the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) reacts after a defensive stop in the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday.
The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on Ocean Beach sand dunes in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, the Western Australia state government said. He was released from a Parks and Wildlife Service boat on Wednesday.
The boat traveled for several hours from the state’s most southerly city of Albany before the penguin was released into the Southern Ocean, but the government didn't give the distance in its statement.
He had been cared for by registered wildlife caregiver Carol Biddulph, who named him Gus after the first Roman emperor Augustus.
“I really didn’t know whether he was going to make it to begin with because he was so undernourished,” Biddulph said in video recorded before the bird’s release but released by the government on Friday.
“I’ll miss Gus. It’s been an incredible few weeks, something I wouldn’t have missed,” she added.
Biddulph said she had found from caring for other species of lone penguins that mirrors were an important part of their rehabilitation by providing a comforting sense of company.
“He absolutely loves his big mirror and I think that has been crucial in his well-being. They’re social birds and he stands next to the mirror most of the time,” she said.
Gus gained weight in her care, from 21.3 kilograms (47 pounds) when he was found to 24.7 kilograms (54 pounds). He stands 1 meter (39 inches) tall. A healthy male emperor penguin can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is further south than Western Australia.
The government said with the Southern Hemisphere summer approaching, it had been time-crucial to return Gus to the ocean where he could thermoregulate.
Emperor penguins have been known to cover up to 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) on foraging journeys that last up to a month, the government said.
In this photo released by Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), a male emperor penguin dubbed Gus, is released back into the ocean off the south coast of Western Australia, Wednesday Nov. 20, 2024. (Miles Brotherson/DBCA via AP)