Vikings edge rusher Dallas Turner is currently tied for third in the league with three sacks through the first two games. He nabbed two of those sacks in the team’s hard-hitting 9-3 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, including one that ended the game.
Virtually anyone with a working set of eyes would say that Turner was one of the best players on the field on Sunday. In fact, you could make a strong case that he was the best. Notably, he also added four QB hits (per ESPN statistics). That is an INCREDIBLY difficult task with Caleb Williams under center.
The Bears played against the Raiders and Maxx Crosby with a backup right tackle last season. Crosby completely wrecked their gameplan, but he managed only one hit on Williams. Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons hit Williams twice in his lone matchup against Chicago last season.
Turner’s impressive performance surely earned him an impressive grade by Pro Football Focus (PFF) standards, right?
Not so fast. Despite the incredible performance, he only earned an overall grade of 52.2. Why is that the case? Missed tackles.. I guess?
“Three missed tackles are gonna get murdered by the grading system, even if we know he had a superstar game,” Purple Insider’s Matthew Coller (who previously wrote a book on analytics) said when speaking to Bring Me The Sports. “Also, unblocked pressures won’t get much credit, and he definitely had a few of those.”
Turner’s Grade Is The Latest In A Long Line Of PFF Gaffs
Sure, he had some missed tackles on the magician that is Caleb Williams, but Turner’s grade is wrong any way you slice it. Unfortunately, that’s become the norm for the company previously recognized for its premier grading system.
Before this season, Sunday Night Football broadcasts showed each starter’s individual PFF grades below their names during the pre-recorded introductions. Now, they replaced the grades with their hometowns.
We don’t know what went into that decision, but it definitely hurt their standing in NFL circles.
So did their recent grade of Caleb Williams after an incredible performance in the Bears’ season opener against the Carolina Panthers. Despite scoring four touchdowns and accumulating 334 yards of offense (including 269 passing yards), his overall grade of 62.5 somehow ranked 20th at the position.
Dallas Turner Is A Rising Star For The Vikings
Turner was expected to enjoy a massive third-year leap this season, and he has lived up to those expectations through the first two weeks. The sack production has been impressive, but his 20 pressures are also more than any TEAM has had through the first two contests.
Has defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ hyper-aggressive approach played a role in his production? Sure. That shouldn’t take away from the promise he’s shown thus far, though.
ESPN’s Mina Kimes weighed in on his breakneck pace in his third campaign. “Dallas Turner had a mini breakout in the second half of last season, but it looks like he’s fully made the leap. Been a star for Minnesota these last two weeks.” Kimes wrote on X following Sunday’s game.
Vikings insider Kevin Seifert also provided an insane nugget on his early breakout.
“ESPN Research has Dallas Turner with 11 QB hits this season. That’s tied for the most of any NFL player in a 2-game span over the last 10 years. (Myles Garrett in 2025, Chris Jones in 2018.)” Seifert wrote.
Dallas Turner is clearly in the process of cementing his status as one of the league’s premier pass-rushers. PFF thinks he still has A LOT of work to do on his tackling, though.
PFF Tags Vikings’ Dallas Turner With Baffling Grade In Week 2 Win Over Bears