Pittsburgh Steelers OLB T.J. Watt lost to Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett for the official 2023 Defensive Player of the Award, announced Thursday night at NFL Honors. Despite Watt’s statistical dominance of Garrett in sacks, Garrett took home his first DPOY trophy, denying Watt of winning his second.
Though disappointing to Steelers’ fans, this had been the expected result since the regular season ended. A favorite of PFF and analytics, Garrett had been the frontrunner over the last month. The All-Pro teams, also voted on by the Associated Press, confirmed Garrett’s lead. Watt and Garrett made 1st-Team All-Pro but Garrett had more first place votes and ballots than Watt, indicating he would beat him out for Defensive Player of the Year.