Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

J.J. Watt on brother's DPOY snub: 'It still just boggles my mind'

By Aaron Becker | Last updated 2/15/24

We are a week removed from the 13th annual NFL Honors, which was held last week in Las Vegas ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. However, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt is still baffled that his younger brother T.J. did not win his second DPOY award.

"There's a ton of great pass-rushers in this league. There's a ton of great defensive players in this league and there's a ton of great talent in this league," J.J. Watt said on "The Pat McAfee Show." "I'm not saying that anybody else is not great. I'm just simply looking at the literal facts and it still just boggles my mind."

"I've said all the stuff that needed to be said about my brother..

There's a ton of great pass rushers in this league but it still boggles my mind" ~ @JJWatt #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/K7u4QymElM
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 14, 2024

Browns DE Myles Garrett was named the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year over T.J. Watt, who had more tackles (68), sacks (19), passes defensed (eight), interceptions (one), fumble recoveries (three) and touchdowns (one) than him this season.

Not only did T.J. Watt lead Garrett in all those categories, but he registered more sacks in the third quarter in Week 18 alone (two) than Garrett did in the final six weeks of the season (one).

As a result, Garrett became the first player to ever win DPOY in a year where he recorded one or fewer sacks over their last six games since sacks became an official stat in 1982, per TheScore's Daniel Valente.

T.J. Watt has since been heavily criticized for "playing hooky" from the ceremony after becoming aware he came up short of winning the award once again before it was officially announced. But his older brother didn't have any problem with it.

"I've said all the stuff I've needed to be said about it," J.J. Watt added. "Why would he be there? What did he need to be there for?"

T.J. Watt was clearly frustrated after learning the news, posting, "Nothing I’m not used to," on platform X.

But the last time T.J. Watt came up short of winning DPOY, he followed it up by tying Michael Strahan's single-season sack record (22.5). So, offenses should beware of T.J. Watt in 2024.

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