NFL Honors: Khalil Mack beats Von Miller for Defensive POY by only a single vote

The Raiders pass rusher edged his Broncos counterpart by the slimmest of margins

HOUSTON -- There was an early surprise coming out of the 2017 NFL Honors show, as Khalil Mack picked up his first ever Defensive Player of the Year award.

Mack, who was dominant for the Raiders in his third season, edged out Von Miller by just a single vote, according to NFL.com editor David Ely:

Khalil Mack beat out Von Miller by one vote. For DPOY. Wow.

— David Ely (@David_Ely) February 5, 2017

Miller, according to AP writer Dennis Waszak, got 17 votes to Mack's 18 votes. Landon Collins of the Giants got nine votes, with Aaron Donald (3), Sean Lee (2) and Eric Berry (1) also receiving votes.

Mack was a jack of all trades for the Raiders, piling up 11 sacks, one interception (returned for a touchdown), three passes defensed, five forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

There's a good case for Miller to win the award, however. He finished with 13.5 sacks for the Broncos plus three passes defensed and three forced fumbles. He was a dominant defensive player and a huge reason the Broncos were even able to stay in the playoff hunt.

It's probably pretty close to a coin flip, which explains why it was such a tight battle between the two players and so difficult for the voters to choose.