3 Overreactions After Vikings Week 2 Win (Dallas Turner Deserves More DPOY Buzz)

The Minnesota Vikings woke up on top of the world Monday morning—or at least the NFC North. Sunday afternoon's 9-3 win over the rival Chicago Bears left the Vikings as the only 2-0 team in the division, as they handed the Packers their first loss in Week 1, before the Detroit Lions came up short against the Buffalo Bills in a Thursday Night Football shootout.

The 2026 NFL season is far from done, of course, but it's safe to say that the Purple and Gold, as well as their fans) should have a pep in their step heading into the last week of September. With winnable matchups against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, and Indianapolis Colts on the horizon before their next divisional clash (Week 8 @ Lions), the Vikings have a great opportunity to keep increasing their lead until then.

In the meantime, it's hard not to blow things out of proportion amid an undefeated start to the season. As such, here are three overreactions after the Vikings' Week 2 win over the Bears.

1. Dallas Turner is a legit DPOY candidate

After being drafted seventh overall by the Vikings in 2024, fans were clamoring for a Dallas Turner breakout this season. The former Alabama pass rusher recorded a career-high eight sacks and 42 pressures in 2025, according to Pro Football Focus, and expectations only rose after a nine-pressure performance in the season-opening win over the Packers.

Fortunately, Turner didn't disappoint in Week 2. Playing the fourth-most snaps of his career (59), Turner generated a whopping 11 pressures against the Bears, per PFF. For reference, he never had more than five in a game last year. Of course, the best of Turner's plays were his pair of sacks on the day, including a walk-off effort as time expired in the fourth quarter (h/t NFL).

DALLAS TURNER WALKOFF SACK FOR THE VIKINGS pic.twitter.com/8wGRHUIMKW
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026

After that performance, Turner is on pace for 170 pressures and 25.5 sacks in 17 games.

Is that production sustainable? Probably not, but even maintaining a fraction of it is bound to have Vikings fans wondering whether the 23-year-old disruptor is a legitimate NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Only two Minnesota players have ever won that honor. Former NFL MVP Alan Page was the first to do so in 1971, before Keith Millard was the most recent in 1989.

That said, as of Monday morning, Turner is tied with the Broncos' Nik Bonitto for the eighth-best 2026 DPOY odds (+2500) on FanDuel Sportsbook. He's still a long shot compared to Aidan Hutchinson (+500) or Will Anderson Jr. (+550), but the fact that Turner leads all edge rushers with 20 pressures (one of six players in double digits), four more than the next closest player, can't be ignored.

Needless to say, don't be surprised if Turner remains in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation throughout the season as long as his foot stays on the gas pedal.

2. Ivan Pace Jr. deserves more playing time

Ivan Pace Jr. was a bit of an afterthought in Week 1, which wasn't surprising given how the Vikings had been using him. The former undrafted free agent went from starting in 75% of his appearances in his first two seasons to making only six starts in 17 games last year, often playing special teams. That's why it wasn't shocking that he played more ST snaps (26) than defensive ones (10) against the Packers.

Fast-forward to Week 2, though, and Pace's playing time increased on the defensive side of the ball while nearly evening out overall. He saw 14 defensive opportunities against the Bears, including his first three pass-rushing opportunities of the year. The ex-Cincinnati Bearcat made the most of his chance, recording a pressure and a 77.4 pass-rush grade on PFF. Including Week 18 against Green Bay last season, Pace has two pressures in his last three games—his best stretch in nearly a year.

Pace showed he's capable of big moments, too. After coming into the game following Blake Cashman's exit, Pace wrapped up Bears running back D'Andre Swift near the goal line, which allowed Jalen Redmond to punch the ball out and force a fumble (h/t Vikings).

Big Time.

Jalen Redmond popped it loose.@rodgers_isaiah jumped on it.

📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/ZHTgPUtKFJ
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 20, 2026

If Pace keeps playing as he is, the Vikings will have no choice but to increase his playing time.

After seeing what he did following Cashman's exit, defensive coordinator Brian Flores could consider giving some of his snaps to Pace moving forward. Cashman has now played 65-plus snaps in back-to-back games after averaging 60.8 in 2025. That isn't a ginormous increase, but he isn't getting younger, so it might behoove Minnesota to give five or so of Cashman's snaps to Pace.

Either way, keeping Pace's playing time limited would be a mistake for the Vikings if they want to unlock the defense's full potential.

3. Vikings are going to win the NFC North

All eight NFL divisions won't be decided until much later in the season, but these are overreactions, after all. As mentioned before, the Vikings are currently the sole owners of the NFC North's top spot, so why not believe that they can hold on to the divisional crown until the end of the year?

For starters, Minnesota's remaining schedule is currently the fourth-easiest in terms of win percentage (.400), according to Tankathon, trailing only the Jacksonville Jaguars (.345), Houston Texans (.345), and Cincinnati Bengals (.367). For comparison, the Packers come in tied for the fifth-easiest (.414), the Lions rank 10th (.448), and the Bears clock in at 18th (.533). Minnesota is also 2-0 in divisional play, whereas Green Bay and Chicago are 0-1, with Detroit being the only team yet to face an NFC North foe.

And while the undefeated start leaves plenty to be excited about, the Vikings still haven't shown their full potential. Kyler Murray only played 11 offensive snaps before leaving the season opener with a concussion, so it remains to be seen what the offense will look like in his hands. The good news is that head coach Kevin O'Connell expects Murray to clear concussion protocol early this week (h/t ESPN's Kevin Seifert), so it might not be long before we see what Minnesota's offensive ceiling could be.

Kevin O’Connell says that Kyler Murray remains on track to be cleared from concussion protocol early this week.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) September 20, 2026

As solid as Carson Wentz has been in relief, Murray is the quarterback who gives the Vikings their best shot at winning the division. They've already beaten the Bears and Packers without him, and they should feel confident about beating the Lions, too, after going 2-0 against Dan Campbell's team last year.

DraftKings Sportsbook has the Vikings as +194 favorites to win the NFC North entering Week 3. That's already promising, and things could continue trending in the right direction if the Purple and Gold keep finding ways to win games—especially against divisional opponents—early in the season.

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