Here’s a fun fact: postseason performance is irrelevant to post-season awards such as the Most Valuable Player, the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and, say, the Defensive Player of the Year. While the NFL does not announce the winners until the day before the Super Bowl at the NFL Honors ceremonies, the voting takes place at the end of the regular season and before the playoffs begin.
It’s a good thing for the “leading candidates” for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, because they did little to nothing in the opening round during their teams’ blowout losses.