After a strong start to the 2024 season, T.J. Watt was relatively quiet since the bye week. During November, the Steelers star was largely held in check and only recorded one sack to go with three tackles for a loss. To the surprise of many, Watt remained the frontrunner in the Defensive Player of the Year race.
After his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 13, Watt has officially distanced himself from any sort of competition.
Collectively for the Steelers, this was a defensive performance Pittsburgh would love to forget about. This unit surrendered 31 points (seven of the 38 total points came on a pick-six in the first quarter) while giving up over 300 yards to quarterback Joe Burrow.
But Watt was one of several bright spots on defense. The four-time First-Team All-Pro saved a potential touchdown drive late in the first half when he shed two blockers and tracked down Burrow from behind for a strip-sack. The ball was recovered by Pittsburgh -- swinging the momentum in their favor.
Watt also came up with a coverage sack in this contest to pat the stats a bit more. In doing so, he reached the third-most sacks in NFL history by a player in his first eight seasons.
T.J. Watt (106.0) now has the third-most sacks by a player in their first eight seasons since 1982. pic.twitter.com/otzK1I4JxH
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 1, 2024
Watt finished the contest in Cincinnati with three tackles, two sacks, three tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and five quarterback hits. Unsurprisingly, this performance escalated his DPOY odds in 2024.
Watt is now -190 to win the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year award, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. This is up from +105 odds entering Week 13.
T.J. Watt is running away in the DPOY race
What's equally as interesting is that there isn't a close second in the competition. Trailing Watt in second place this season is Myles Garrett at +1200 odds. Garrett won the 2023 DPOY award when many believed it should have gone to Watt for his 19-sack performance last year.
Odds suggest that long shots like Pat Surtain (+1700), Xavier McKinney (+1700), Chris Jones (+2200), and Danielle Hunter (+2200) don't stand much of a chance to bring home the Defensive Player of the Year award after the 2024 season.
Despite only having 9.5 sacks under his belt in 2024, Watt is the distant frontrunner. The Steelers superstar has been chipped at a high rate this season and leads the league with five forced fumbles. When you combine this with the success Pittsburgh has witnessed this season, it's not hard to see why Watt would be in the lead.
Watt's biggest competitors for the award early in the season were Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. However, Hutchinson suffered a season-ending injury in the first half of the season and Lawrence's odds dwindled with New York's struggles this year.
Barring an injury or a very quiet finish to his 2024 campaign, T.J. Watt is heading toward his second Defensive Player of the Year award this season.