Image by Vincent Carchietta-Iman.
The Minnesota Vikings took on the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon with plenty of storylines for both teams. For Minnesota, it all came down to former Houston edge rusher Jonathan Greenard taking down CJ Stroud in turn after turn. This was just the start of something special.
Jonathan Greenard begins best year of his career
The Minnesota Vikings chose not to pay Danielle Hunter because they didn’t think he was a good player. In fact, the Vikings edge rusher was recording career-high totals in the sack department. He was also flashing signs of health that hadn’t been there in his career. Therein lies the problem: As he gets older, it’s harder to keep those results consistent.
Brad Rempel – Imagn Images.
With a limited number of edge rushers, the Vikings have put together a new pairing. Jonathan Greenard, like Hunter, has had injury problems. Greenard is also a few years younger than Hunter and has had a very healthy year. Greenard, who recorded a career-high 12.5 sacks in 15 games last season, should be able to continue to perform well with the Minnesota Vikings.
After recording just one sack in his first two games with Minnesota, Greenard made his presence felt against his former Houston Texans teammate. Greenard homered three times against Stroud and had three takedowns. It was quite the debut for Greenard, and he’s set to have a strong season.
Jeffrey Becker – Imagn Images.
The Vikings currently lead the NFL in sacks, and they’re doing so without Brian Flores applying any significant pressure. Minnesota’s defense is swarming the quarterback as the secondary focuses on its role. With practice time, Greenard can expect to continue to perform at a high level for the remainder of the game.
It’s entirely possible that Greenard can surpass the 12.5 sacks he had last season in his first year with the Vikings, and it would be nice to see Hunter put up better numbers than he had when he left Minnesota last year, but that shouldn’t be considered impossible.
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores speaks to the media from the TCO Performance Center on July 25, 2024. Flores was hired in February 2023 to replace Ed Donatell after Minnesota finished 30th in points allowed.
Minnesota appears to have made a strong move on the free agent front with Greenard, who can continue to produce for himself and the team for the rest of his time, and if Flores continues to outperform him there’s no reason to put a limit on how far he can go.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, focusing on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings related. Twitter I write weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering professional teams with passion always seemed like a natural outlet.
