Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett barely squeaked by Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year during NFL Honors Thursday night in Las Vegas.
Garrett received 23 first-place votes compared to 19 for Watt. It’s one of the closest finishes for this award in recent memory.
Garrett earned First-Team All-Pro honors, recording 30 QB hits, 17 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and four forced fumbles.
For his part, Watt registered 36 QB hits and 19 tackles for loss while leading the NFL in sacks with 19. He was also a First-Team All-Pro with Garrett. Both players deserved this award. But only one could win it.
Immediately ahead of Garrett being named DPOY, Watt was tweeting through it. Apparently, the Steelers’ star already knew that he wouldn’t win.
Interestingly enough, Watt was not in attendance at the NFL Honors in Las Vegas despite being a finalist for one of the biggest awards of the night. We’re not sure what to make of that.
Regardless, both Watt and Garrett are among the best all-around players in the NFL. We’re not talking just about defensive players. All-around players.
This is also surely to add a bit to the Steelers and Browns rivalry in the AFC North moving forward.