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NFL Honors awards
SAN FRANCISCO -- J.J. Watt has won The Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for the third time.
It was not a unanimous selection for the Houston Texans defensive end, as it was last year -- a first for the honor -- but it was decisive. In tying Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor as the only players to take the award three times, Watt earned 37 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL.
Rams tackle Aaron Donald received seven votes, followed by two Carolina Panthers: linebacker Luke Kuechly with four and cornerback Josh Norman with two.
Watt's superb fifth pro season for the AFC South champions included a league-high 17½ sacks, eight passes defensed, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and general dominance.
"There might be kids out there pretending that they're wearing No. 99, [and that] is literally one of the coolest things in the entire world," Watt said. "I was a two-star recruit ... going into college, and now I have three Defensive Player of the Year trophies, so [take that] all you guys who doubted me."
It was not a unanimous selection for the Houston Texans defensive end, as it was last year -- a first for the honor -- but it was decisive. In tying Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor as the only players to take the award three times, Watt earned 37 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL.
Rams tackle Aaron Donald received seven votes, followed by two Carolina Panthers: linebacker Luke Kuechly with four and cornerback Josh Norman with two.
Watt's superb fifth pro season for the AFC South champions included a league-high 17½ sacks, eight passes defensed, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and general dominance.
"There might be kids out there pretending that they're wearing No. 99, [and that] is literally one of the coolest things in the entire world," Watt said. "I was a two-star recruit ... going into college, and now I have three Defensive Player of the Year trophies, so [take that] all you guys who doubted me."