Texans DT J.J. Watt Believes He Has A Shot At NFL MVP

The last defensive player to be named NFL most valuable player was the New York Giants' Lawrence Taylor in 1986. If J.J. Watt's Houston Texans teammates had their say, he'd end that streak of offensive MVPs this season. "Oh yeah, of course I hear it. Being a defensive player, I want a defensive player to win it, and I think I have as good a chance as any," Watt told USA TODAY Sports this week as he prepared for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Indianapolis Colts. "And if I'm not even in the discussion, I think it's going to be tough for anybody to ever get into the discussion again. I would love to be a representative for defensive players." Watt has 20.5 sacks this season and needs two to tie Michael Strahan's record and another half-sack to claim the outright record. He's also recorded 15 passes defensed (plus, as you'll see below, one he claims the official scorer missed), has forced four fumbles and has been a constant nuisance for teams trying to run the ball. But the Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson and the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning play premier skill positions on offense, which means they've dominated the conversation, with Watt mentioned as an also-ran. "There's obviously a strong lean toward the offensive players, which is understandable. I mean, quarterbacks and running backs touch the ball a lot more," Watt said. "But when you look at a dominant year from a defensive player, I think they can affect the game just as much as an offensive player." Source: USA Today