With the Super Bowl just hours away, that means the National Football League is announcing their annual awards. This is when deciding who is considered the Most Valuable Player (MVP), Offensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and, importantly, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker TJ Watt, Defensive Player of the Year.
Unfortunately for Watt, the award went to Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.
It would be the second consecutive year in which Watt finished second overall in the poll, and last year he lost New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Defense Player of the Year vote:
Aaron Donald: 27
TJ Watt: 20
Xavien Howard: 3– NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) 7 February 2021
With such awards, many factors come into play. Last season, many thought the reason Watt did not win the award was the fact that the Steelers could not make the playoffs, while the Patriots did. This season, there are many indications that the Steelers lost disappointingly to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round of the AFC Playoffs, and Donald’s Rams beat the Seattle Seahawks to play to the Division Round of the NFC.
Either way, it’s hard to ignore basic stats. Here are the statistics that Watt produced this year …
Watt’s 2020 Statistics:
Games: 15
Tackles: 53
TFL: 23 *
Bags: 15 *
QB hits: 41
Forced fumbles: 2
Pass defense: 8
Interceptions: 1
* Jelly NFL
This does not indicate that Donald does not deserve the award or not, but you wonder what Watt will have to do to get his first award for defensive players. Meanwhile, he will continue to look up to his older brother JJ Watt, who has three awards for Defensive Player of the Year.
Watch BTSC for the latest news and notes around the black and gold as they prepare for the new league year, the NFL Free Agency and the 2021 NFL draft.