Young Vikings defender was a bright spot in frustrating loss to Bears

On a day where the headline story was the poor play of J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings' other first-round pick from the 2024 draft quietly had perhaps the best all-around game of his young career. Dallas Turner has gotten off to a fairly slow start since being selected 17th overall last year, but his performance on Sunday was a bright spot in a frustrating loss to the Bears.

Filling in for the injured Jonathan Greenard, Turner played 67 of the Vikings' 75 defensive snaps. He recorded seven tackles, including a sack and another tackle for loss. He dropped into coverage and broke up a pass. He tied his career high with five pressures. And for what it's worth, his 72.1 Pro Football Focus grade was the best mark of his career in a game where he's played at least 20 snaps.

Dallas Turner's performance was a bright spot for the Vikings in the loss.

- 7 tackles (2 TFL)
- 5 pressures (ties career high)
- 1 sack
- 1 pass defended
- 72.1 PFF grade

Encouraging stuff from the 22-year-old. pic.twitter.com/Al9IKpEt6C
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 17, 2025

Turner came close to having an even bigger day. He wound up getting his sack in the fourth quarter, but he had a play in the second quarter (at the end of the highlight cut-up above) where he had Williams in his grasp and couldn't finish the sack. In the third quarter, when the Bears converted a screen to Luther Burden III on third and long, Turner was a half-second away from jumping the pass and perhaps going Andrew Van Ginkel mode on a pick-six.

At the same time, it should be noted that this game does not erase some of the broader concerns around Turner that have so far kept him from emerging as a standout player and justifying the price the Vikings paid to acquire him. His athletic tools are excellent, but he hasn't really seemed to develop any sort of consistent pass rush move yet. Most of his pressures in this game came from a pure bull rush, and it also must be acknowledged that he was frequently matched up with Bears backup left tackle Theo Benedet, an undrafted second-year player from Canada. Turner had some good run defense reps in this game, but there were others where he was washed out of the play.

Broadly, though, this was an encouraging performance for Turner, who is still 22 years old. He's gotten more consistent opportunities to play a high volume of snaps in his second season, especially while filling in for either Van Ginkel or Greenard. And although you'd still like to see more of a consistent impact from Turner, he's clearly making progress within Brian Flores' defense. The flashes have been there for a young player who can push the pocket, play the run, and do some Van Ginkel-like things as a dropper in coverage.

Based on which Pro Bowl player he's filling in for, Turner's responsibilities might be a little bit different, which requires some adapability.

"It's the same position but it's not," Turner said after Sunday's game. "One might be a little more rushing, one might be a little more dropping. It's like a mix and match of both skills in one. Just being able to play behind those two dudes and learn the knowledge that I can get from those two guys and implement it into my game."

More performances like this one from Turner down the stretch of this season would create some positive momentum towards a potential breakout campaign in year three.

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