Category: T.J. Watt

Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt honored at 101 Awards

Voters for the Associated Press awards didn’t get it right, but the 101 Awards voters did.

Voters for the Associated Press awards didn’t get it right, but the 101 Awards voters did. On Friday night, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt was honored at the 101 Awards as the 2023 AFC Defensive Player of the Year.

Watt was presented with the award, flanked by longtime defensive line coach Karl Dunbar and outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin. It was Watt’s third time winning the honor, having previously won it in 2020 and 2021.

Watt had another outstanding season in the Black and Gold, racking up 48 solo tackles (19 for loss), 20 assists, 19.0 sacks, 3 fumble recoveries, 36 QB hits and one interception in 17 games.

It’s a head-scratcher, as the selection committees of the 101 Awards and AP NFL awards have common voters, yet the NFL Defensive Player of the Year — the most coveted award in the league — voted Myles Garrett as its winner.

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T.J. Watt dismissive of critique by Steelers legend

T.J. Watt and the Steelers have been repeating the same mantra without results.

The dynamics of the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room were under a microscope for much of the team’s 2023 season. Star defender T.J. Watt was pressed about it in an interview during Super Bowl 58 media week, particularly as it pertained to Ben Roethlisberger’s criticism of Steelers tradition last December.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about the guys in the locker room and it’s hard for people on the outside to truly get a feel for what’s going on on the inside,” Watt said in a Feb. 8 interview with Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz.

Watt went on to talk about how the team has to “come together” as a group. This has been the unfulfilled mantra for the past two seasons, yet the Steelers continue to underperform.

Though Ben Roethlisberger is heading into his third year of retirement, he’s not too far removed from his days in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room. He now has an unfiltered outsider’s perspective on just how tradition and culture have changed in recent years.

Winning — with consistency — will make it all better. Only they’ve been on the wrong path. We’ll see if 2024 puts them on the right one.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt clarifies cryptic tweet after getting edged out by Myles Garrett

T.J. Watt clarified the tweet he posted after learning he didn’t win DPOY.

After learning he wasn’t being named NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt posted a tweet on Thursday, presumably reacting to the news.

The winner hadn’t yet been revealed, so those five little words, “Nothing I’m not used to,” caused quite a stir.

On Friday night at Super Bowl media week, SB Nation’s JP Acosta asked Watt to clarify his remark.

I think that’s up for everybody to kind of debate It was just one of those things where people were seeing I wasn’t there. I wanted to let them know why I wasn’t there, and it was just a situation where it is something I’m truly used to at this point, so I’ll just use it as motivation going forward.

Watt was in familiar territory after finishing third in the 2019 voting and second in 2020 for Defensive Player of the Year. In 2021, he was finally named DPOY with 22.5 sacks (tied Michael Strahan, 2001).

Watt has every right to feel slighted. He led the league in sacks with 19.0 (the second-highest mark in a single season in his career), becoming the first player to do so on three separate occasions. He also finished top five in tackles for loss and forced fumbles.

He did everything in his power to play up to and beyond the standard of what’s deemed a Defensive Player of the Year, aside from excelling at some made-up stat (“pass rush win rate”) that the NFL doesn’t even track or count.

Watt produced more in nearly every statistical category than his counterpart, yet Garrett walked away with the coveted award with 24 votes over Watt’s 19.

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Twitter reacts to Micah Parsons ripping Steelers LB T.J. Watt

Micah Parsons says T.J. Watt isn’t a Top 5 pass rusher.

For whatever reason, this season’s Defensive Player of the Year Award was highly controversial and the win by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett over Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt seems to have everyone speaking up.

One guy who had a lot to say was Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. He claimed that Watt isn’t a Top 5 pass rusher and this of course got social media abuzz. Here are some of our favorite posts about Parson’s comments.

Steelers fans react to T.J. Watt losing Defensive Player of the Year to Myles Garrett

T.J. Watt earned DPOY but didn’t get it.

T.J. Watt knew it was coming. NFL fans knew it was coming. Watt was a bridesmaid, but not the bride. Defensive Player of the Year, the most coveted award in the league, was presented to Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.

Despite leading in many statistical categories, including the most sacks with 19, Garrett was named DPOY.

Steelers fans took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express their displeasure.

Steelers’ T.J. Watt loses out to Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year

We all knew this was how it was going down.

From the moment the first numbers were released for 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year, the odds were literally against T.J. Watt. Myles Garrett was the favorite to win and rarely fell out of grace.

Despite grinding out the most sacks in the league with 19 and becoming the first player to do so on three separate occasions, Garrett walked away with the coveted award over Watt.

We all knew this was how it would go down, and Watt did, too. He posted a tweet earlier this evening, “Nothing that I’m not used to,” as well as an Instagram story with the caption, “Playing hooky.”

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt ‘playing hooky’ from NFL Honors

You won’t find T.J. Watt in the NFL Honors audience.

Like everybody who’s anybody in the NFL world, T.J. Watt is in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. But you won’t find him at the NFL Honors ceremony. No, sir.

Watt posted to his Instagram story a photo of his wife, Dani Rhodes, with the caption “playing hooky.”

As he should. It’s all but official that he’s about to be snubbed for one of the NFL’s highest honors — Defensive Player of the Year. While he led in most statistical categories, including sacks (19), he’s about to be overlooked again.

No need to be in the audience for that.

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Did Steelers LB T.J. Watt leak he isn’t winning DPOY?

Did T.J. Watt tip the pick for DPOY?

The NFL Honors haven’t quite started yet but it seems the winners and losers already know their fate. At least this is what it sounds like from the Tweet Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt sent out indicating he is not winning Defensive Player of the Year.

Watt has been named Defensive Player of the Year multiple times this offseason by a variety of agencies but this is the one that really matters to the players. It’s been a two-man race between Watt and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett and if this post is any indication, the NFL is going to give Garrett his first honor rather than give Watt his second.

Watt led the league with 19 sacks in 2023. This is the third time in his career he’s done it and is the only player in NFL history to accomplish such a feat.

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Steelers LB T.J. Watt among finalists for DPOY

Here are the five finalists for DPOY.

The names of the five finalists for AP Defensive Player of the Year were released on Thursday. Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is among them. Despite leading the league in sacks for the third time in his career, Watt doesn’t seem to be getting much hype as a frontrunner. Here are the five finalists.

Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt wins AFC Defensive Player of the Year at 101 Awards

The offseason accolades keep coming in for Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt.

The offseason accolades continue to pour in for Pittsburgh Steelers edge defender T.J. Watt. Watt has already been named to the PFWA All-NFL team, and now has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Year by the 101 Awards.

Watt led the NFL with 19 sacks in 2023. This is the third time in Watt’s career he’s led the league in sacks and the third time he’s won the honor from the 101 Awards.

The 101 Awards, the oldest awards event in the country dedicated to the NFL, have been held in Kansas City, Missouri, since 1969. They recognize coaches, players, team owners and league executives. A committee of 101 media members from across the country vote on the winners. All proceeds from the 101 Awards go to charity.

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