Ranking the 30 best Defensive Player of the Year winning seasons
By Nick Villano
Ranking the 30 best Defensive Player of the Year winning seasons: 24. 2005 Brian Urlacher
Brian Urlacher doesn’t get the recognition he deserves for just how good he was during the early and mid-2000s. The Bears as a whole weren’t the championship-caliber squads of the early years in the NFL, but Urlacher was someone who led a defense with a quiet swagger that is hard to find today. He didn’t speak a lot, but his hits left marks that lasted for days.
In 2005, it wasn’t even his best statistical season. He did get 122 total tackles, it was one of his few years without an interception, he only had six sacks, but he led a defense that was tops in the NFL. He also had 17 tackles for loss, which showed he was getting in the backfield with ease. Despite getting 122 tackles, 98 of those total tackles were solo.
Urlacher arguably had a better season in 2006, but he lost out on back-to-back awards to the Miami Dolphins’ Jason Taylor. Still, his 2005 season was great. His ability to be just about everywhere on the field forced coaches to change their game plan.
The big turnaround in 2005 helped Urlacher secure the award. The Bears only won four games in 2004, but that season the Bears jumped to an 11-win team. Being able to cover the field from sideline to sideline made Urlacher special. He is a Hall of Famer, and deservedly so.