Not everyone was celebrating after Myles Garrett achieved a milestone by breaking the NFL’s single-season sack record. Bengals coach Zac Taylor was upset over the officials’ choice to interrupt the game just before Garrett made history, leaving the Bengals in a critical moment.

Taylor expressed his disappointment about the game’s interruption after Garrett sacked Joe Burrow for his record 23rd sack, while the Bengals trailed 17-12 with only five minutes left to play. The timing of this pause diminished the Bengals’ last efforts to score the decisive touchdown.

Taylor remarked, “There’s five minutes left in our season. We didn’t get any notification about the game being paused. In this crucial moment, the referees decided to halt the game. They claimed they acted quickly, but it sure didn’t feel that way.”

While the celebration for Garrett’s achievement took place, the Bengals attempted to regain control by hurrying a play, but came up short. “We didn’t sub, we were trying to keep the pace. The umpire prevented us from moving forward,” Taylor stated, noting the confusion and lack of clarification from the officials.

Taylor reiterated that he wasn’t informed prior to kickoff that the officials had the authority to pause the game for such a moment. “They didn’t mention a word about it back in our 90-minute meeting before the game.” Even though Cincinnati (6-11) was out of playoff contention, Taylor’s feelings reflect his drive and commitment to win. Despite the setback, the Bengals managed to score with a touchdown pass from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase, yet the Browns triumphed as Andre Szmyt completed a last-minute 49-yard field goal.