DeMeco Ryans Praises Steelers' Elite Star T.J. Watt As He Wins NFL Network Defensive Player Of The Year

The Pittsburgh Steelers' heart of its defense has made another case for AP Defensive Player of the Year after his seventh season in the league. Star outside linebacker, T.J. Watt is coming off one of the best seasons of his career with the NFL Honors Awards being just around the corner (February 8th at 9 PM EST). Along with Watt, the finalists for the DPOY Award include: DaRon Bland (Dallas Cowboys cornerback), Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders defensive end), Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns defensive end), and Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys linebacker).

Watt finished the 2023 season with 19 sacks, 68 total tackles, and 4 forced fumbles, while recovering 3. Unfortunately for the Steelers and Watt, the star went down with an apparent and what seemed to be a very serious knee injury in the season finale against the Baltimore Ravens. This game had a lot on the line for Pittsburgh, as they were sitting at 9-7 and pushing for a Wild Card spot. Pittsburgh got the job done, securing victory at a score of 17-10, but at what cost? Watt was diagnosed later in the week with a Grade 2 MCL sprain, ultimately crushing most hopes of beating the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs.

This week NFL.com analysts made their picks for the awards that will be handed out next week. Edging out Garrett once again was Watt who collected 11 votes to Garrett's 9. You can see all of their picks here.

Watt stated that he would make a strong push to come back to the team if they had made it to the Divisional Round, but the Bills' offense was unstoppable without Watt. Falling to a quick 21-0 deficit by the middle of the second quarter, all hope was lost for the Steelers. Mason Rudolph and company tried making a surmountable comeback, cutting the score to 24-17, but the defense without Watt could not continue to hold off Buffalo. It's no secret that the Steelers are a completely different team when Watt is on or off of the field. 

The Steelers' chances of winning that game sky rocket with Watt on the field. And then who knows what could have happened from there. Had the Steelers pulled out a victory, they then would have gone into Baltimore for the Divisional Round. That doesn't sound so bad to Steelers fans, given that they are 7-1 against the Ravens since 2020. Lamar Jackson is 2-4 versus Pittsburgh in 6 seasons. This would have given the Steelers a great opportunity to get to the AFC Championship Round.

Head Coach for the Houston Texans, and frontrunner for this year's NFL AP Coach of the Year, DeMeco Ryans had something to say on the topic of defensive player of the year. 

“T.J., you can't think of another guy that impacts the game more. He is probably the most impactful defensive player in the league right now.”

In his first season as head coach for Houston, Ryans led a young Texans team to the postseason. Ryans and rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud, had what was nothing short of an impressive year together. Houston finished the season 10-7 while winning the AFC South title, and even demolishing the favored Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card Round. 

For the third time in his career, Watt was named AFC Defensive Player of the Year and the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2023 MVP for the fourth time. He is the first player in NFL history to lead the NFL in sacks three times in their career. This will be his fourth time being selected First Team AP All-Pro and his fifth time to the Pro Bowl.

The numbers and play on the field speaks for itself. There's no doubt that the Defensive Player of the Year is on the Pittsburgh Steelers. What do you think, Steeler Nation? Who should be DPOY? Let us know in the comments. 

#SteelerNation