A league of ultimate competitors, some rivalries become personal in the NFL.

Two players that are among the best at their position are star pass rushers, T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett.

So when asked about winning Defensive Player of the Year over Watt last season, the best player on the Cleveland Browns had a stern message for Watt ahead of his matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Garrett didn’t appreciate Watts’ actions

“I’ve never complained about the trophy not being in my house, and vice versa, he shouldn’t be feeling two ways about it going to me,” Garrett told the media on Tuesday. “We’re just gonna play the game. I don’t play against T.J. He doesn’t play against me. We’re playing to do what we’re supposed to, go out and do what we’re supposed to, win the game and dominate on defense.”

If you can’t recall Watt’s actions, lets go back to NFL Honors in February. When arriving for the award show in Vegas, Watt decided to skip the function after learning ahead of time that he would not win Defensive Player of the Year for 2023.

Watt would take to social media to voice his displeasure, putting up a picture of his wife on his Instagram story with the caption “playing hooky” followed by a tweet where he said, “nothing I’m not used to.”

So for Garrett, it seems that he took Watt’s actions personally, with his words insinuating that Watt was a poor sport about the whole ordeal. I would venture to say there is still a tremendous amount of respect between the two parties, even if they have taken some petty shots at each other over the past few years.

We’ll see who reigns supreme come Thursday night.