The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA) All-NFL Team was announced on Monday and two Steelers’ defenders were selected. Linebacker T.J. Watt and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick both earned All-NFL and All-AFC honors.
PFWA 2020 All-NFL, All-AFC and All-NFC teams announced #PFWAAwards https://t.co/nvYSwVOrOe
— Pro Football Writers (@PFWAwriters) January 18, 2021
The PFWA is made up of accredited writers who cover the 32 NFL teams on a daily basis. They are made up of sports writers from various sources such as The Athletic, ESPN.com, profootballtalk.com, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Newsday.
T.J. Watt turned in another impressive performance during the 2020 season. Resting in Week 16 as the Steelers prepared for the postseason, Watt had a career high 15.0 sacks while playing in one less game from the previous year. Watt led the NFL in sacks as well as 23 tackles for loss. Other items to add to his résumé were 41 quarterback hits which was another career high, along with 53 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 7 passes defensed, and an interception.
Watt was joined by the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack as the other choice at outside linebacker for the All-NFL team.
Making a case for being selected the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Watt will have to wait until the NFL Honors Ceremony the night before the Super Bowl on Saturday, February 6.
Joining T.J. Watt on the All-NFL team for a second straight season is safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Starting all 16 regular season games for the Steelers, Fitzpatrick only missed four snaps on the season in the Steelers blow-out win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fitzpatrick had 79 tackles in 2020 along with a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 4 interceptions one of which was returned for a touchdown.
Fitzpatrick was joined by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyrann Mathieu as the other selection at safety.
When it came to the All-AFC honors given by the Pro Football Writers of America, Watt and Fitzpatrick were the only Steelers recognized.
Congratulations to both T.J. Watt and Mikah Fitzpatrick on their recognition of an outstanding 2020 season.