The veteran star of the Browns defensive line yet again reminded everyone Sunday why he’s seen as one of the best defensive players in the NFL. In doing so, defensive end Myles Garrett reminded how quickly he climbed up the ranks into the elite category.

Yet in the same game in which Garrett became the youngest player to ever reach 100 career sacks, a week before his 29th birthday, the Browns also saw a reason for some optimism elsewhere in the same position group. It was a flash in the midst of 24-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was there nonetheless.

No one understood that better than Garrett.

“I mean, that’s what we talk about, finding your why,” Garrett said after the game. “Those young guys … should have a lot to prove, just ’cause a losing season doesn’t mean that this doesn’t go on your resume. This is all still part of your legacy. Who are you when things aren’t going your way? We have to be able to put on the tape and see that you’re the same guy, no matter the circumstances.

“And I think some of the guys took that to heart and jumped off the film on a couple of plays. So all those guys can be big playmakers for us, and I think they’re just taking those steps.”

Three defensive linemen, all of whom have been drafted within the last 19 or so month, in particular flashed the most in the loss to the Bengals. Rookies Mike Hall Jr. and Jowon Briggs were key pieces to the defensive tackle rotation, while second-year pro Isaiah McGuire was often the defensive end opposite of Garrett.

Each one is showing signs of why the Browns said he can be a piece of the future puzzle. That puzzle is one Garrett himself said he needed to see from the organization in order to assuage his own concerns.

The Browns are 3-12 entering Sunday’s final home game against the Miami Dolphins. The continued growth of those young defensive linemen would at least provide tangible evidence to Garrett of a growing nucleus of young talent to build around to return to the playoffs, which even the young players understand.

“We still got to play with a lot of passion no matter what,” Hall said after the game. “Like I said before, the wins and losses is not pretty, but we still got to show on the film that we can ball out, too, just to show everybody that we can play no matter what the score is. We’re still going to put our heads down and go to work regardless.”

Hall, a second-round pick in last April’s draft out of Ohio State and Streetsboro High School, made his first career start Sunday with veteran Shelby Harris out with an elbow injury. That start may have come earlier for him, but for a combination of his own personal issues that led to a five-game suspension and then a knee injury that led to a four-game stint on the injured reserve list.

The game against the Bengals was Hall’s best showing in six games. He had his first career sack, against Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow no less, along with five tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.

Briggs, a seventh-round pick in last April’s draft, had his biggest play in four games as a pro in the same town where he played his college ball at the University of Cincinnati. He fell on a Burrow fumble with 4:27 remaining to give Cleveland life down 17-6.

“Yeah, so it’s just a matter of doing what I’ve done since the beginning of the season, but just taking it to the field,” said Briggs, who has 11 tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery in four games. “The guys have, as in the vets, have done a really good job of just kind of pouring into me the best they can and going out there and practicing these plays over and over again. … So going in there and executing when the guys need a blow, when guys need a play, there should be no drop off between the Alpha and Bravo group, and I’m just kind of trying to exemplify that.”

McGuire has clearly emerged as the No. 2 option at defensive end with Za’Darius Smith having been dealt to the Detroit Lions at the November trade deadline. The 2023 fourth-round pick out of the University of Missouri played 39 defensive snaps against Cincinnati, the second-highest total among Browns defensive linemen behind only Garrett’s 45.

In the last three games, McGuire has a combined nine tackles, three tackles for loss and three quarterback hit. It was his first full sack, though, Sunday that led directly to Briggs’ fumble recovery when the Bengals were facing third-and-goal from the Cleveland 1.

McGuire, like Hall and Briggs, said he views the final two games as an opportunity.

“I think the important thing is to stay focused, stay humble, stay hungry,” McGuire said. “Like I said, continue to learn from our vets, continue to see what we can get better at from the film study and continue to push forward.”