The Small Detail Within Dallas Turner’s First Career Interception
On Sunday, Dallas Turner — an edge rusher — plucked a pass out of the sky from Geno Smith. When the margin is just a trio of points, every huge play becomes just that: huge. Keep in mind that Will Reichard ended up drilling a field goal a few plays later.
The fascinating part of that play is that Turner wasn’t playing as an edge rusher. Instead, the rookie was lined up as an off-ball linebacker, a testament to both the rookie’s brains and athleticism. Being able to move around into different spots is about Turner’s length/speed, yes, but also a willingness and ability to study and learn.
Dallas Turner and The Interception
Had the play been made by Andrew Van Ginkel, then there would be no surprise.
The veteran edge rusher moves all over the defense with regularity. Especially with Ivan Pace Jr. out, dropping Van Ginkel into that off-ball linebacker spot makes a lot of sense. He has snagged a pair of interceptions this season, so seeing a third would merely confirm the trend.
In Seattle, AVG snagged a pair of sacks, pushing his season total up to 11. Combined with Jonathan Greenard, Van Ginkel is part of one of the NFL’s most fearsome pass-rushing duos.
Turner, though, has yet to make those plays with as much consistency even though we all see the potential. Watch the interception we’ve been discussing:
Go ahead and re-watch the clip so that you don’t miss the assist on the goal (so to speak). Josh Metellus, another versatile player, is flying off the edge on a blitz. Smith knows that his time is dwindling before getting suplexed, so the ball needs to come out.
The issue, from Smith’s perspective, is that the ball ends up going toward the wrong player. The wild thing is that Turner begins — don’t miss that — as an off-ball linebacker. The ball is snapped and Turner takes a small step forward to respect the run before dropping back (as all linebackers are trained to do). He then sinks into his zone and reads the quarterback’s eyes. Turner ends up being in the perfect spot when Smith tries to force the ball into his teammate.
Seattle’s final offensive play was similar, in a sense. Jihad Ward was turning up the heat with a QB hit as Smith made a bad decision, throwing the ball to Theo Jackson. If, somehow, these two teams face each other again, then the formula is pretty simple: put pressure on Smith and be opportunistic when plucking passes out of the sky.
Dallas Turner, 21, is having a solid rookie season. He’s up to 18 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss, 4 QB hits, 1 interception, and 1 pass defended. Don’t be shocked if those numbers explode from 2025 onward.
Next up for Dallas Turner and the rest of the Vikings is a game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, December 29th.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
