Dallas Turner didn’t just fill Jonathan Greenard’s spot for the Vikings. Through two games, he’s turned that job into a weekly problem for every offense Minnesota sees.
The latest example came Sunday in Chicago, where Turner piled up 10 pressures, two sacks and four tackles in the Vikings’ 9-3 win over the Bears. He spent the afternoon living in the backfield, and he finished it with the kind of play that closes games: a sack of Chicago quarterback Tyson Bageant on the final snap to lock up the victory.
That performance came on the heels of a strong opener against Green Bay, when Turner logged nine pressures and a sack in Minnesota’s win over the Packers. Two games into the 2026 season, the third-year edge rusher has already stacked 19 pressures and three sacks, making it clear that opposing teams can’t afford to treat him like a secondary threat.
Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell sounded more amused than surprised when he described Turner after the Bears game.
"DT, man, DT just keeps showing up."
The numbers back up that reaction. Turner isn’t easing into the season or waiting for things to come to him. He’s forcing offenses to account for him every snap, and that’s the kind of disruption Minnesota was banking on when it moved Greenard in April.
The schedule ahead gives Turner another chance to keep the heat on. Minnesota’s next three opponents are the 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 0-2 Miami Dolphins and the 1-1 New Orleans Saints. According to PFF data, Tampa Bay has allowed 21 pressures and two sacks through two weeks, Miami has given up 25 pressures and four sacks, and New Orleans has allowed 31 pressures and five sacks.
Turner said after Sunday’s win that he has been working hard for a long time to play at this level. Right now, that work is showing up every week, and if the Vikings are going to make any noise in 2026, Turner looks like a big reason why.
In Other News...
Aaron Jones Gave Vikings Fans One More Reason To Hate That No-Call
The Vikings got what they wanted from a gritty, weather-heavy win over the Bears, with the defense setting the tone and Aaron Jones doing enough on the ground to keep Minnesota moving. Jones carried 23 times for 106 rushing yards, giving the offense a steady source of production in a game where clean footing and clean execution were at a premium.
Jones also delivered one of the more memorable moments late, taking a hard shot that had plenty of people in purple wondering why no flag came out. He brushed off the impact afterward, but his reaction to the no-call only added to the frustration for Vikings fans who had already spent the afternoon navigating a bruising divisional battle. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Week 3 Outlook Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Kyler Murrays recovery from the concussion he suffered has put the Vikings right back into a familiar kind of week-three conversation: what does the offense look like with the starter back under center? Coach Kevin OConnell said Murray is on track to be cleared from concussion protocol, and Minnesota is already lined up for a matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which the Vikings are favored.
Carson Wentz has done his part to keep the ship moving, starting the first two games and helping Minnesota get off to a 2-0 start. But Murrays expected return adds a different layer to a game that already carried some weight, giving the Vikings a chance to see whether their early momentum can hold with the lineup moving back closer to normal. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Got Caught In Foxs Most Infuriating Broadcast Mess
FOX Sports turned Week 2 into a strange viewing exercise before the network got its act together for the nightcap, as audio feeds did not match the games being shown during multiple early NFL telecasts. The mix-up meant viewers were hearing commentary for the wrong game while trying to keep up with the action on the screen, and the confusion only deepened when the scorebug briefly disappeared during overtime of the Packers-Jets matchup.
By the time the primetime window arrived, FOX had resolved the audio problems and moved on to its Cowboys-Commanders broadcast with Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady. For fans tracking the early slate, especially anyone trying to follow the Packers, it was an unwelcome reminder that even in the middle of an NFL Sunday, the network can still be the most distracting thing on the field. [Read more 🡒]