The penalty plague is not leaving the Minnesota Vikings. Entering Week 11, they have just one game all season with fewer than seven penalties. Their linebacker, Dallas Turner, who had a total of four penalties last season, hitting Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and picking up his third already in the team’s Week 10, isn’t helping their case. To make matters worse, the NFL’s disciplinary office came down hard on the 22-year-old.

According to the NFL’s official website, Turner is fined $17,389 for a hit on Jackson. The offense stemmed from a ‘roughing the passer’ penalty when Turner tried to sack the QB. The Vikings were leading 6-10 in the second quarter, with 0:10 left to halftime. In a first-and-10 play, Lamar stepped back to throw the ball. However, Turner ran to him, grabbing Jackson around the waist using his body weight.

While Turner was going for a sack, the referee standing right there threw a yellow flag to put the play under notice. After reviewing, the play was erased, and Baltimore gained 13 free yards, leading to a successful 30-yard field goal by Tyler Loop, bringing the score to 9-10 before halftime. However, this wasn’t the only mistake that the NFL caught by Turner in Week 10.

The LB was fined $17,389 for unnecessary roughness for a hip-drop tackle as well. During the game’s opening kickoff, placekicker Will Reichard kicked the ball 62 yards to running back Justice Hill, who gained 28 yards before Turner brought him down aggressively. However, the officials didn’t penalize him on the field, but the league flagged it later. With that, the LB’s total for the week came to $34,778.

The 2024 NFL Draft’s 17th overall pick ended the game with three total tackles, including a couple of combined tackles, and a pass defended.

For a team like the Vikings, this is a pressing matter.

Turner’s increasing penalties and the Vikings’ woes

After these two fines, Turner has now been fined three times this season. Previously, the Vikings’ LB was fined $19,907 for roughing the passer when he launched himself at the LA Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Although not fined, he has also had a ‘defensive offside’ call in the Week 8 game and an unnecessary roughness call against Pittsburgh.

In his rookie season, Turner totalled four penalties against him, including two for ‘offensive holding, one for ‘defensive offside’, and one each for a false start and taunting.

While the league continues to press on sportsmanlike behavior during games, there have been countless penalties issued every week. In fact, Turner’s announcement was one of four ‘roughing the quarterback’ and one of eighteen ‘unnecessary roughness’ penalties for Week 10 alone.

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“(The focus) was there, but we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” said QB J.J. McCarthy after the game.

Entering Week 11, Minnesota had a whopping 77 penalties called. With this, they are averaging 7.7 penalties per game for a total of 606 yards, which isn’t the best fact for a 4-5 team, hanging dead last in the NFC North.

Against the Ravens, the home team was called for 13 penalties. The worst part? Among all the mistakes made by them, it was the Vikings’ eight false starts on the afternoon that derailed drive after drive, leaving the fans booing.

“Whatever was unearthed today needs to be corrected immediately,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.

Update: While the team could not bounce back from the 19-27 Ravens as they fell 19-17 to the Chicago Bears today, fortunately for the head coach, they only had two penalties against them.

Luckily, Lamar didn’t suffer a major blow because of the hit, but the quarterback has been reeling from his own share of injuries.

Lamar Jackson pushes through a knee injury

The Ravens couldn’t be happier as Jackson showed up for Thursday’s practice ahead of the Week 11 game against the Cleveland Browns. Just a day earlier, the two-time Pro Bowl player ditched the session due to knee soreness. On Thursday, he jogged out with no limp and moved easily from one drill to the next while taking first-team reps. In fact, Lamar shared a short yet promising health update post-practice.

Jackson’s progress comes after a physically taxing game against the Vikings last week, where he injured his knee. During the game, the defense hit him 11 times, including one that led to a roughing-the-passer call on Turner. Despite the tough beating and ongoing knee issues, the QB is not stressing over teams targeting him in future games.

In fact, for him, it’s all cool.

Yep, the two-time MVP is ready for whatever comes his way. But we must note that the Ravens’ performance without a healthy Jackson tells the actual story. The franchise averages 33.2 points when the quarterback starts and finishes games. However, it is just 15.8 points without him. With Baltimore sitting at 4-5 and trailing Pittsburgh in the AFC North, Jackson’s health remains a big factor in deciding the team’s fate. As for the Vikings, the only thing they can do at this point is try to improve their skillset and solve their penalty issues to come back better.