Myles Garrett’s return certainly made a difference for the Rams in their 20–13 win over the Commanders. 

After falling just short of a Super Bowl appearance last season, the Rams decided to go all in and acquired Garrett from the Browns in a blockbuster trade this offseason. The move paired the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, fresh off his record-setting 23-sack campaign, with Matthew Stafford, the reigning MVP. 

The trade did not net immediate results for Los Angeles. Garrett made his debut as a Ram in Australia against the 49ers in Week 1, but failed to make the stat sheet as he did not record a sack or tackle in the loss. He underwent knee surgery after the game, causing him to miss the past seven weeks.

During Garrett’s absence, the Rams’ rough start continued. They started the season 2–4, dropping games to the Broncos, Bills and Cardinals. After an especially disappointing loss to Arizona, the Rams responded by winning two games entering Sunday’s contest against the Commanders to even their record at 4–4. 

Garrett would not be held off the stat sheet again in his first game back from injury. His first major play, however, was a mistake. He committed an offsides penalty on third down during Commanders’ first drive of the game, giving Washington a free first down. The Commanders went on to score a field goal on the drive, for the first points of the game. 

After that play, Garrett was back to his normal self. After the Commanders got the football by forcing a Puka Nacua fumble, Garrett gave the ball right back to the Rams by forcing a fumble on Jayden Daniels. Los Angeles turned the turnover into a field goal before the half that cut their deficit to 10–6.

Later in the fourth quarter when the Rams led 20–13, Garrett showed why the Rams traded away two picks and Jared Verse to go get him. He recorded another sack when he took down Daniels on second-and-9 with just under 11 minutes remaining. The Commanders converted on third down, but punted on the drive. On the Commanders’ next drive and attempt to tie up the game, Garrett went offside again on third down, reducing Washington’s third-and-10 to a third-and-5. He more than made up for the error by sacking Daniels, forcing the Commanders to go for it on fourth-and-17 with two minutes remaining. The Rams stopped them on fourth down, giving the ball back to the offense. While the Commanders’ offense had one final chance to score with less than a minute remaining and no timeouts, they were unable to notch a touchdown to tie the game. 

During Garrett’s time on the Browns, he did not often get to play with the lead late in games. He did with the Rams on Sunday, and responded with two clutch sacks, including one of the biggest plays of the game.

On a day when the Rams’ offense was out of sync and the team was missing its top two corners, Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, Garrett’s presence was a key difference in Los Angeles earning the win. He finished the game with six pressures, three sacks and a forced fumble to help the Rams move to 5–4 on the season. The Rams, who struggle to move the ball outside of the run game and Puka Nacua amid injuries to Davante Adams and Terrance Ferguson, will need more for their offense to contend with the NFL’s best teams, but Garrett’s return certainly provided a major spark for their defense going forward.