No surprise here as Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt terrorized teams all year with one of the best defensive seasons in NFL history. It’s only fitting that he end it off winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. Read more after the jump.
The Houston Texans defensive end was a monster from Week 1 straight through to Week 17. Watt was dangerous as a pass rusher despite rushing from the inside, finishing with 20.5 sacks. He was a stout run stuffer, with 23 tackles for loss. And Watt wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks with an NFL-record 16 tipped passes.
Von Miller, Aldon Smith and Richard Sherman all had an impressive year as well but none compared to what Watt accomplished.
Let’s put Watt’s dominance in perspective, Watt had 56 “defeats” this season, according to Football Outsiders. (A defeat is a forced turnover, a tackle for a loss, or a tackle or pass defensed that stopped a drive. In short: How many times did a defensive player completely ruin a play or drive?)
The previous all-time high for “defeats” was 45, set by Ray Lewis in 1999. Watt beat that by 11. Simply incredible.
