DE Myles Garrett had an incredible performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, racking up three sacks and helping lead the Cleveland Browns to an upset win over their archrival. After the game, Garrett, who seemed to take issue with T.J. Watt’s tweet about it being “nothing new” that he didn’t win Defensive Player of The Year last season, made it clear he was the top defender in the NFL. Browns beat reporter Mary Kay Cabot added more color to Garrett’s comments and said he was upset that T.J. and his brother J.J. “poked the bear” by tweeting about T.J. not winning.
On Friday, Watt clarified that his disappointment had nothing to do with Garrett and that his issue is with the voting process for Defensive Player of the Year.
“It’s not about the person. I have a lot of respect for every single NFL player, I think there’s a lot of great pass rushers, lot of great players in the NFL. It’s more so the voting and how that all happened is where we were upset with. It’s nothing to do with Myles Garrett as a person, as a player,” Watt said via SteelersLive on Twitter. “I think he’s a hell of a player. It’s more so the voting system and what you need to do to get those things. But like I said, that’s the one I’m not focused on this year at all.
It’s all about Pittsburgh Steelers and winning as many games we can in the right moments. All year long, I’m worried about the Pittsburgh Steelers being the best team at the best time. And I feel like we’re on the right direction this week, and we have a challenge this Sunday.”
It doesn’t matter who won the award last season, had it been Garrett or someone else. Watt’s issue seems to lie with the lack of transparency when it comes to the voting process. You don’t know who all the AP voters are, and the ballots aren’t released to the public.
While that’s not something that’s exclusive to the NFL — that’s how award voting works in most sports — it’s something that is surely frustrating as a player to not know who’s voting for you or someone else and why. It’s understandable that it’s the area where Watt’s frustration lies, and not over the person who actually won the award.
It’s not the first time Watt has said his issue is with transparency. Back in February, Watt essentially said the same thing he said today during an interview with ESPN’s Pardon My Take — that he respects Garrett and Micah Parsons and other defensive players but that he just wants more clarity on how the award is decided.
With the Steelers at 8-3 and the Browns at 3-8, Watt’s team has the upper hand this season on its path to the playoffs even with the Browns getting the head-to-head win, so he has the upper hand with his mind focused on the Steelers this season. Watt has never won a playoff game with the Steelers, and he has more individual accolades to fill a few trophy shelves, so this season, Watt’s focus is on the team doing as much as it can to win.
A Super Bowl ring means a heck of a lot more than an individual trophy to someone like Watt. So while Garrett may have bested him in Week 12, it’s about something bigger for Watt and the Steelers.