After terrorizing Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson throughout their Week 11 game, Cleveland Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett seemed like the obvious choice for the weekly AFC Defensive Player of the Week award. Naturally, when he was instead passed up on the honor, the decision from the league led to some backlash.
Garrett played about as well as he possibly could have on Sunday against the Ravens, recording four sacks and five tackles for loss in the game. Unfortunately, his efforts were not enough to uplift the Browns stagnant offense, which resulted in Cleveland dropping to 2-8 on the year.
Despite the AFC Defensive Player of the Week award being an individual accolade and not a team-based honor, Garrett was not selected for the award in Week 11.
Instead, the honor was given to Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks, who recorded 20 total tackles in their 16-13 win over the Washington Commanders.
While Brooks certainly had a terrific game that should not be understated, J.J. Watt seems to believe that the reason Garrett was not given the award was due to the Browns’ losing effort as a team.
In a post on X, Watt called out the NFL for their decision to snub Garrett, explaining that the decision was “bizarre” in his opinion.
“The requirement that your team win the game for you to win an individual award is very bizarre,” wrote Watt. “It's best defensive player of the week. Not best defensive player whose offense also played well this week.”
This decision from the NFL actually marks the second time that Garrett has been snubbed in favor of Brooks.
Week 8 was perhaps an even more egregious example that players on losing teams seem to be at a drastic disadvantage when it comes to the weekly awards. Despite Garrett’s five sack effort against the New England Patriots, Brooks was also named the Week 8 AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Maybe Garrett will fare better when it comes to the race for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Unfortunately, unless the Browns turn things around, Garrett sure seems to be fighting an uphill battle to win the weekly award throughout the remainder of the 2025 season.
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