Tag: Defensive Player of the Month

Steelers EDGE Alex Highsmith reacts to T.J. Watt’s DPOM honors

High Wattage.

Alex Highsmith had to deal with double teams for eight games in 2022 in T.J. Watt‘s absence. Now that Watt’s 100 percent and back to his usual dominating ways, Highsmith is more free to do what he does.

And he’s thankful for it.

“I am just blessed to go to war with that guy every week,” Highsmith told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com after learning Watt earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month. “He makes me better. To see his process, what he does. There is a reason he is who he is. He is the best in the world at what he does. Just to go to battle with him every week is awesome.”

The list of ridiculous September stats for Watt seems to go on and on. Six sacks, 11 tackles, nine of them solo stops, 12 quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, including one for a 16-yard score. He surpassed James Harrison as the franchise’s all-time sack leader and leads in overall sacks made in the month of September.

Per Steelers.com, Watt is the first player to record six sacks and register a defensive touchdown in a team’s first three games of a season since 1982 (when the NFL officially started tracking sacks).

Watt and Highsmith have cemented themselves as one of — if not the best — edge duos in the NFL. The pair hijacked the Cleveland Browns offense in the Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup when they both scored touchdowns. It was Highsmith’s first pick-six, and Watt had three career touchdowns off various plays.

The two are licking their chops with their next matchup versus the Houston Texans. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, September’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, is the fourth most-sacked quarterback in the league with 11.

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Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt earns Defensive Player of the Month

The best NFL defender debate starts and ends with T.J. Watt.

T.J. Watt took one more step toward ending the argument that he’s the best defender in the NFL today when the league awarded him AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

Watt’s had an insane start to the 2023 season, leading the league in sacks (six), quarterback hits (12), total pressures generated (20) and tying for first in forced fumbles and fumble recoveries (2).

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month, and Watt’s stats are better, so let’s just refer to him NFL Defensive Player of the Month.

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Za’Darius Smith named NFC Defensive Player of the Month

Smith picked up some more hardware on Thursday

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Just a day after winning NFC Defensive Player of the Week for week eight, Za’Darius Smith picked up some more hardware as he was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for October.

His month of October was excellent. Over four games, Smith torched defenses. He had 12 tackles, eight tackles for loss, seven sacks and PFF credited Smith with 22 pressures.

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The success of Smith should come as no surprise. The only real question came from his injury history. After two injury-plagued seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Smith has found a way to stay healthy.

His pairing with Danielle Hunter has been the catalyst of his success. Teams are paying so much attention to Hunter that Smith has destroyed offensive linemen in one-on-one matchups.

The kicker is that Smith is only a $3.16 million cap hit for the Vikings and $11.424 million on the Packers cap.

Smith has set himself up for a potential All-Pro season as he is currently tied for the league lead in sacks with 8.5.

Jerome Baker shares his reaction to winning Defensive Player of the Month

He’s glad his defense is getting the recognition.

The Miami Dolphins’ Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee, linebacker Jerome Baker, received another honor this week, as he was named the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for December.

During his Thursday media availability, Baker shared how he found out about the award and how he felt receiving it.

“I was happy,” Baker said. “I was in meetings, and I was just sitting there and my phone kept buzzing and buzzing and buzzing. I think Duke reposted it, and I clicked his notification, and that’s when I found out. I was definitely happy.”

The moment has to be a great feeling, but the reaction from those around you has to be even better. When Baker was asked who had the best reaction, the answer was pretty obvious.

“Yeah, it’s definitely my mom and my dad,” Baker explained. “They might’ve texted me like a million times about it. They text me, they call me, they DM me on social media. It’s like, they just keep saying it, so I know they’re proud… happy just to get an award and bring attention to our defense. We’ve definitely been doing our thing this past month.”

Miami’s defense has been rolling since they started their winning streak, and the individual players are finally getting that recognition.

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Broncos OLB Von Miller named AFC Defensive Player of the Month

Von Miller’s first month back from an ankle injury: 6 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, six QB hits, four sacks. He’s BACK!

Von Miller is officially back!

After missing all of the 2020 season with an ankle injury, Denver Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller has returned in style to begin the 2021 campaign.

Through the first three games of the season, Miller has totaled eight tackles, six quarterback hits, six tackles behind the line of scrimmage (tied for the most in the NFL) and four sacks (second-most in the AFC).

Those impressive totals earned Miller AFC Defensive Player of the Month honors for September, the league announced Thursday. This marks the fourth time in his career that Miller has earned DPOM recognition.

For the Broncos overall, this marks the 12th time one of their defenders has received DPOM honors. Denver’s last non-Miller players to earn the recognition were DeMarcus Ware (Sept. 2015) and Champ Bailey (Oct. 2006, Nov. 2005).

Miller has now totaled 110 sacks in his career, which ranks 23rd on the NFL’s all-time sack list. Miller needs 28 more sacks to join Ware in the Top 10 on the league’s all-time list.

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Chase Young first rookie to win Defensive Player of the Month in Washington

Chase Young was named both Defensive Player of the Month, and Defensive Rookie of the Month for December, adding to an already loaded trophy case.

Talk about a happy holiday season.

News came out on Thursday morning that Washington rookie DE Chase Young had been named both the NFL defensive player of the month and rookie of the month for December, adding two more awards to his trophy case, one that is quickly starting to pick up hardware.

According to The Washington Post‘s Sam Forter, Young is the first player to win the player of the month award in Washington since QB Kirk Cousins did so in 2016, the first to win defensive player of the month since LB London Fletcher in 2012. He was also the first player in franchise history to win player of the month as a rookie.

At this point in the season, Young has all but locked up the Defensive Rookie of the Year award, with his 32 total tackles, 7.5 sacks, 12 QB hits, 4 forced fumbles, 4 batted passes, 3 fumble recoveries, and 1 touchdown. After a relatively slow start to his career, Young has absolutely been a dominant and driving force of the Washington defense over the past couple of months, and his recognition in the NFL is well-deserved. It is clear that the start of a dominant career is underway.

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Myles Garrett wins AFC Defensive Player of the Month for October

Garrett has never won the award for a full month before

Browns defensive end Myles Garrett has earned the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month for his strong October effort.

It’s a worthy honor for the NFL’s sack leader and most dominant defensive force. Garrett racked up six sacks, 11 solo tackles, four TFLs in the run game and forced two fumbles in Cleveland’s four games in October. The Browns won three of the four games in the month.

It’s the first time Garrett has won the honor for a full month. No. 95 has previously won AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors but has now expanded his resume to a full month of superlative play.

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