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Steelers players, fans congratulate T.J. Watt on winning Defensive Player of the Year

ByMark Powell|
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)

Steeler Nation was thrilled that T.J. Watt got the award he deserved, taking home AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Steeler fans consistently come out in droves to celebrate their own, and Watt certainly qualifies as that. Watt tied Michael Strahan’s record for most sacks in a single season with 22.5 in the final week of the season against the Baltimore Ravens.

What Watt and the Steelers didn’t know at that point was that they’d be playing in the postseason the next week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Thanks to a surprising Jaguars win over the Colts, and a Raiders victory over the Chargers later that Sunday, Pittsburgh made the playoffs and gave Ben Roethlisberger one more chance at playoff glory.

Steelers fans, players react to T.J. Watt’s award

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1491961368119066631

There were many more where that came from.

Watt lost out on Defensive Player of the Year last season, narrowly finishing in second place. As the Steelers tweet suggests, they took that personally, and Watt came back to win the award this past season with a year no one in Pittsburgh and beyond will forget.

Last offseason, Watt got his money, signing a lucrative contract extension to stay in Pittsburgh. this year, he put up historic numbers. What’s next?

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