The one game that Kevin Stefanski already has circled on the Atlanta Falcons' schedule is his return to Cleveland in Week 14. The Browns fired him for Todd Monken earlier this offseason, but he has a chance to exact his revenge on the team that canned him in his first season in Atlanta on a Sunday afternoon in mid-December.
The Falcons are headed to Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 13, but their chances of coming out with a win received a big boost. The reason why? The Browns just made a franchise-altering trade that saw them trade two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to Los Angeles in a June 1 shocker.
The Browns reportedly dealt the seven-time All-Pro to the Rams in exchange for Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick. While the Rams look like bona fide contenders, Stefanski will face his old team that no longer has their most important player, which can help him make them regret firing him.
The Myles Garrett trade gives the Falcons a better shot of a Week 14 win
Thank god he's gone. This was a guy who just broke the NFL's single season sack record. The 30-year-old would've terrorized the Dirty Birds' offensive line just like everyone else's. Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa would've been running for their lives while facing this elite Cleveland defensive line, and Stefanski knows how dangerous he is.
The 30-year-old was believed to be untouchable, and for good reason. He's on a Hall of Fame trajectory now. He has 125.5 career sacks and 149 career tackles for loss. That's an elite pass rusher and the Rams were willing to pay the price for a player they know will elevate their whole defense.
He's historically incredibly durable too. The seven-time Pro Bowler has appeared in all 17 games in three of the last five seasons, and 16 in the other two. So it's not an injury thing either. When Myles Garrett is on the field, he's the best pass-rusher in the NFL, and he's almost always on the field.
Other than Verse, the Browns also have no one on their defensive line capable of replacing him, and with a generational talent like Garrett, it takes a village. The big issue is that they didn't address edge rusher this offseason because they weren't under the impression a trade was in the cards paying him $40 million a year on a new extension last offseason.
The Browns are clearly punting on 2026, which bodes well for a late-season matchup with the Falcons. The inclement weather expected in this matchup could still affect Tua or Penix, but at least they'll have a much easier time getting the ball in the hands of their playmakers and helping Stefanski leave Cleveland with a win without Myles Garrett on the other sideline.
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