CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Myles Garrett blew through the doors of the NFL vowing to be the greatest player who ever lived, and to crush some records along the way including the rookie and regular-season sack records.

The rookie sack mark went by the wayside in a season derailed by a right high ankle sprain suffered in practice before the opener against Pittsburgh. As in his final season at Texas A&M, Garrett was bugged by the ankle throughout the season.

"I'm never going to make excuses,'' he said. "You can't make excuses out on the football field because nobody's going to take excuses. It's not like you're going to be going by a guy and you're going to limp and he's going to move out of the way.

"It might've been bothering me, but I'm never going to say it's affected me or it kept me from getting to the quarterback. It got to me mentally.''

Ankle or not, Garrett heads into Sunday's season finale against the Steelers with six sacks in his 10 games -- a respectable total, but not for the No. 1 pick with sky-high aspirations.

"I did well but not up to my standards,'' he said. "I want to be a force in this league and didn't feel like I did that this year. But there's always next year and there's always the next game."

The next game was supposed to be Garrett's first chance to "chop down'' Ben Roethlisberger, but the season will likely end the way it began -- with Garrett only dreaming of putting Big Ben on his back. Roethlisberger is expected to sit out along with running back Le'Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown, who's officially out with a calf injury.

"I would (be disappointed to miss Roethlisberger),'' he said. "I know they probably think of it as a smart move to probably sit him and rest him for the playoffs. But I'd really like to go and get my chance to play against him, seeing as he's an elite quarterback and been doing it for so long and so well.''

He never worried about a target on his back by the Steelers after that "chop down'' remark.

"It's football,'' he said. "You're going to hit and get hit. Whether they have a target on my back or not, it doesn't really matter to me."

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams revealed Friday he was "shocked'' Garrett didn't break his leg during the preseason, considering a 265-pound offensive player got tripped and was launched into the back of his right ankle.

Garrett stormed back from the injury with a sack on his first NFL play and two in his first game. After three weeks, he had four and was on pace for his goal of at least one a game. Then, he sat out the London game with a concussion and embarked on a six-game stretch with only one sack.

He broke out of the slump last week in Chicago, not only sacking Mitch Trubisky but picking him off and rumbling into end zone with a pick six. But Carl Nassib lined up offside and negated the play. The Browns went on to lose 20-3 instead of taking a 10-6 on the opening play of the second half.

Still his athleticism was on display on that slippery track.

"Did you see him run away from everybody else?'' said Williams. "He ran like a receiver. There's a reason he ran 4.5s coming out. I can't coach those things. He has them. We just have to keep on working."

Said Garrett: "I'm faster than most people think probably. But just get me out in space and I can make some plays. So with the ball in my hands or without the ball in my hand, I can be a force."

His six sacks are tied for third-most by a Browns rookie and are tied for second among NFL rookies this season. But Garrett isn't satisfied -- his target was Jevon Kearse's rookie record of 14.5 sacks.

"I expect better always no matter what I do,'' he said. "I could have 15 sacks right now, and I expect better."

The good news for Garrett is that some of the NFL's best pass-rushers started slowly. All-time sack leader and Hall of Famer Bruce Smith (200) had 6.5 as a rookie before 15 in his second season. Oakland's Khalil Mack had four as a rookie in 2014 before 15 in his second season. Hall of Famer Michael Strahan had 1.0, 4.5, 7.5 and 5.0 before his first double-digit season, and went on to set the single-season record of 22.5 in his ninth season.

"The sky's the limit for Myles,'' said Hue Jackson. "I don't want to say what the number [of sacks] will be or anything like that, but I just think he has to take in everything he learned this past year, have a great offseason, stay healthy and then head into the offseason program ready to go.

"I think Myles is going to be one of the better pass rushers in this league. ... I think it's definitely going to happen here pretty soon."

Despite coming up short this season, Garrett's still aiming high.

"I feel like if I'm able to be healthy the whole season, not have any setbacks, then I can achieve those goals and exceed them,'' he said. "I'm glad (Jackson's) still excited about what I can do, and hopefully I can live up to everything he imagines."

Williams also expects great things.

"(He has) tremendous fire,'' he said. "I'll be shocked if it's not immediately visible next year.''

He also knows that Garrett's offseason "will not be a patient one. It will be one where he's grinding himself to improve, not only physically, but the mental aspect too.''

Garrett agreed.

"I'm not going to be taking much time off. I like to get better every time I have some down time so I'm going to be using my time wisely, whether it's getting myself in playing shape or working on my rush moves."

If all goes as planned, he'll be that force in 2018.