Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
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Much of the focus from the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason opener Saturday went to quarterback J.J. McCarthy and his 188-yard, two touchdown performance in a 24-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
But McCarthy wasn’t the only first-round pick from the Vikings’ 2024 draft class who impressed.
Edge rusher Dallas Turner, taken 17th in the opening round, had a sack and two quarterback hurries on 22 snaps. Turner has gotten plenty of snaps with the first team in training camp, but it’s been difficult for him to consistently flash for a couple of reasons.
The first is that he’s often matched up against standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who has offered Turner suggestions on his technique, but isn’t about to give an inch on the field. The second is that guys like Turner are paid to hit the quarterback, but when the QB is a teammate in a red jersey the only option is to avoid contact.
Turner had no such restrictions on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium and recorded a 10-yard sack of quarterback Aidan O’Connell on third-and-3 from the Minnesota 3-yard line during the Raiders opening series. O’Connell lost 10 yards on the play and Las Vegas settled for a field goal.
“I think he was happy to come to U.S. Bank Stadium and not see No. 71 (Darrisaw) standing across from him,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
McCarthy is the most important player on the Vikings’ roster when it comes to the future, but there’s a good chance Turner will have more of an impact this season. There were many who questioned the decision of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to make a draft-night trade with Jacksonville that sent the Jaguars a fifth-round selection, as well as third- and fourth-round picks in 2025, so the Vikings could swap the 23rd pick for the 17th in order to grab Turner.
Was it too much?
Perhaps, but Turner had a standout college career at Alabama and now will join a group of rush ends that includes free agent additions Jonathan Greenard (Houston Texans) and Andrew Van Ginkel (Miami Dolphins). Greenard and Van Ginkel were both held out Saturday.
The 21-year-old Turner is listed at 6-foot-3, 247 pounds and doesn’t look like what Vikings fans have become used to seeing from their edge rushers.
But Turner is similar in size to Dallas Cowboys edge Micah Parsons, who is listed at 6-3, 245 pounds. Speed is what makes Parsons so special — he has 40.5 sacks in his first three seasons — and the Vikings are counting on Turner to have a similar impact.
GREAT START, DISAPPOINTING FINISH
The Twins opened a key four-game series against Cleveland on Friday by sweeping a split-doubleheader and moving from 3.5-games behind the AL Central leaders to only 1.5 back. Odds appeared strong the Twins would be able to take three of four.
But after losing 2-1 on Saturday at Target Field, the Twins rally fell short on Sunday in a 5-3 loss. That meant the Guardians left town with the same 3.5-game lead with which they had arrived.
The Twins remain in the second wild card spot in the American League, but things won’t get any easier on Monday when they open a three-game series against another AL Central rival, the Kansas City Royals, at Target Field.
The Royals are in the third wild card spot in the AL, a half-game back of the Twins.
The inability to win a third game against the Guardians, after sweeping on Friday, was enough for Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to address his team after Sunday’s loss.
“I did tell our guys … ‘Every series we play from here on out will be the most important series in the season,’” Baldelli said. “We’ve still got about two months to play so we’ve got plenty of games going on.”
The Twins are still without shortstop Carlos Correa (plantar fasciitis) and found out Friday that starter Joe Ryan is likely to miss the rest of the season because of a significantly strained muscle in his throwing shoulder.
This leaves the Twins’ rotation shorthanded and with rookies David Festa, who lasted only 3.1 innings on Sunday, and Simeon Woods Richardson as key pieces.
Pablo Lopez, who has had an up-and-down season and carries a 4.74 ERA, is scheduled to start Monday, but the Twins’ starters after that were yet to be determined, according to Sunday’s game notes. Baldelli said Sunday evening that a roster move was coming but the team wasn’t ready to announce it yet.
The Royals’ starters for the three games are righthander Brady Singer (3.03 ERA), righty Seth Lugo (2.72) and lefty Cole Ragans (3.27). This doesn’t mean the Twins can’t win the series, but it does mean the Royals appear to have a real advantage.
MCCARTHY VS. THE COMPETITION
There were six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft. Here’s how each fared this weekend in the preseason.
Caleb Williams, first pick by the Chicago Bears: Started and played two series against Buffalo, going 4-of-7 for 95 yards with a 101.8 passer rating. He also had one run for 13 yards. The Bears got field goals on both of Williams’ drives.
Jayden Daniels, second pick by the Washington Commanders: Started and played one series against the Jets, going 2-of-3 for 45 yards and a 109.7 passer rating. He ran a for 3-yard touchdown.
Drake Maye, third pick by the New England Patriots: Played the second series against Carolina, after Jacoby Brissett got the start, completing 2-of-3 passes for 19 yards and an 84 passer rating.
Michael Penix, eighth pick by the Atlanta Falcons: Started and played five series against Miami, completing 9-of-16 passes for 104 yards with a 76.0 passer rating. The Falcons scored on two (field goal and touchdown) of his drives.
J.J. McCarthy, 10th pick by the Minnesota Vikings: Did not start start but played six series, completing 11-of-17 passes for 188 yards with two touchdowns, an interception and a 116.8 passer rating. He also scrambled twice for 18 yards. The Vikings scored on three touchdowns on his drives.
Bo Nix, 12th pick by the Denver Broncos: Did not start but played five series against Indianapolis, completing 15-of-21 passes for 125 yards with a touchdown and a 102.3 passer rating. The Broncos scored on four (two touchdowns and two field goals) of Nix’s drives.
BULLET POINTS
The Twins will consider former players for induction into their Hall of Fame next year. This year wasn’t a player ballot year as former general manager Terry Ryan and the late Rick Stelmaszek, a longtime coach, were inducted Saturday. A former player must earn 60 percent of the vote to get in. There have been years the Twins haven’t inducted anyone and it will be interesting to see who gets votes this winter.
Another reminder that former Twins broadcaster Halsey Hall belongs in the team’s Hall of Fame. Hall was on games before my time but the press conference room in the Metrodome was named after him and he was a legend as a sportswriter and broadcaster for many years before joining the Twins.
The Twins honored the 100th anniversary of the Washington Senators’ World Series title on Sunday at Target Field and retired the Senators’ “W” by putting it alongside the Twins retired numbers. The Senators, or the version that was around in 1924, is the franchise that Calvin Griffith moved to Minnesota in 1961. The original thought of Twins officials was to retire the number of Hall of Fame Senators pitcher Walter Johnson, who played for the team from 1907 to 1927. But the Senators did not start wearing numbers until 1931.
Sad to learn that former Twins third baseman Mike Cubbage passed away at the age of 74 on Friday after battling cancer. Cubbage was acquired by the Twins, along with Roy Smalley, Jim Gideon and Bill Singer, from the Texas Rangers for Bert Blyleven and Danny Thompson on June 1, 1976. Cubbage spent parts of five seasons with the Twins and ended his career with the New York Mets in 1981. Cubbage also spent time as third base coach for the Mets and Boston Red Sox and actually was interim manager at one point for both teams.
