Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Watt had a team-high five tackles, 1.5 sacks, two passes defensed and one fumble recovery in the Texans' 27-7 victory at Jacksonville in Week 2. The Texans limited the Jaguars to 117 yards of total offense, a new team record.
"He's exceptional," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said of Watt. "He's factoring in the game just incredible, whether it's a tipped ball, getting a turnover, a sack. He's such a big-play guy... He's had two as good of outings as you could possibly have." Through two games, Watt ranks second in the NFL and is tied for the AFC lead with three sacks. He's tied for third in the league with five passes defensed, trailing two defensive backs. The Texans have allowed an NFL-low in points per game (8.5), yards per game (196.0) and passing yards per game (124.0).
This is the first weekly NFL award of Watt's NFL career. The second-year pro from Wisconsin was a PFW/PFWA All-Rookie selection last season, when he had 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, a team-high 7.0 tackles for loss and four passes defensed. Watt tied for the NFL playoff lead with 3.5 sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Wild Card round against Cincinnati.
The last Texans player to win AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors was safety Glover Quin, then a cornerback, in Week 12 of the 2010 season. The last Texans defensive lineman to win the award was Mario Williams in 2007.
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