“I’m going to go off”: Von Miller boldly vows to dominate the Browns on Thursday Night Football

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Nearly three years ago to the day, Von Miller stole national headlines by forecasting what was going to happen on Thursday Night Football between the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a must-win. We’re going to kick their ass though. Make sure you put that up there, we’re going to kick their ass,” Miller stated on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2018, just two days before that game. “They’re going to get our best this week. Last week was tough, the week before that, whatever. This week, Thursday night, primetime, they’re going to get the Broncos best.”

Von was spot on.

On that Thursday night primetime game, the Broncos whooped up on the Cardinals to the tune of a 45-10 pounding. Denver had not one, but two pick-sixes and Emmanuel Sanders—the wide receiver—threw a 28-yard touchdown pass.

“They’re going to get my best this week and we’re going to go out there, and we’re going to kick their ass,” he added. “This is the way I’m feeling.”

Once again, Von was spot on. The All-Pro pass rusher took over that game and dominated. Miller racked up two sacks, five quarterback hits, one tackle for a loss and even tossed in a fumble recovery in the Thursday night beatdown over the lowly Cardinals.

Three years later, on Tuesday, Von was back with another incredibly bold statement outlining how Thursday Night Football will unfold.

“I will play well in this game. I’m going to go off. It’s going to be a good game for me,” Miller stated on Tuesday. “I’m going to go out there and play well and get a couple of sacks. If I can do that, then we will win.”

The parallels between that game three years ago and this year are hard to ignore. Both were Week 7 games. Both were on Thursday Night Football. And both came after a few tough losses.

“Last week was tough, the week before that, whatever,” Miller said in 2018, although the statement holds true for 2021 as well.

This time around, Von stopped short of guaranteeing the Broncos would “kick their ass,” like he did three years ago, because he wants all of the pressure on his shoulders.

“I don’t want to guarantee a win for my teammates, but I guarantee I have—I don’t want to put the pressure on those guys. I want to put the pressure on me,” he stated firmly. “And I’m going to have a great game.”

A good game from Von Miller would mean a good game for the Denver Broncos. In Denver’s three wins, their first three games of the season, Von was an unstoppable force. On his way to being named AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September, he racked up four sacks, six quarterback hits and an NFL-best six tackles for a loss.

However, in the previous three games, all losses, Von’s production significantly fell off as he only had half a sack, one tackle for a loss and just two quarterback hits.

“If you look at this season, in those first three games, I had a couple of sacks and we won those games. These last three games, I didn’t do as much. If I can play well and I can get sacks and I can find a way to disrupt the game, we will win,” Miller stated, backing up the facts. “The pressure is on me to play well. I will play well.”

Miller had one more message to the Browns’ banged-up offensive line.

“I don’t know who the tackle is I’m going against, but I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him. And the other guy on the other side,” Von said without hesitation. “And I’m going to play extremely well and I’m going to make plays for my team. I’m going to set us up to win this game for sure.”

The reason Miller doesn’t know who the Browns’ tackles are is because there’s a chance neither of their starting tackles play against the Broncos. Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills Jr., Cleveland’s starting tackles, didn’t play against the Cardinals on Sunday and neither have practiced this week. That could very well mean Von will get to face two backup tackles.

Regardless of if he’s going up against starters or backups, Von has plenty of experience ruining opposing tackle’s days. Miller has racked up two or more sacks in a single game 21 times throughout his career. He most recently accomplished that in Week 1 when he brought Daniel Jones down twice.

If all of that wasn’t enough, Miller also wants to outplay fellow Texas A&M alumni Myles Garrett. That will be a tall task as Garrett’s eight sacks leads the NFL.

“I definitely have to play better than Myles this week,” Miller stated. “Myles, he’s going to make a couple of plays as well. He’s a beast.”

After three-straight losses, why was this the right time for Von to make the bold statements?

“You just feel it and it’s genuine,” Miller said. “You know, this time Thursday night comes around, I want to put it on me. I want to put the pressure on me. If it’s all on me, then I can control that. I can control that. I can handle that. I can make shit happen like that. It’s football—you have so many different parts. I put the pressure on my guys multiple times this season and I want to try something a little bit different. I want to put the pressure on me. I’m going to go out there and I’m going to play well, kill whatever guy I’m going against and I think that’ll lead to a victory for us for sure.”

Von Miller was spot on about the way things unfolded on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018. He’s forecasting a similar result for Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 when the Broncos face the Browns in Cleveland.