NFL pressures leader Jonathan Greenard having All-Pro season for Vikings

Greenard has been incredibly good in his first season with Minnesota.

Nov 17, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) warms up before a game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

As the clock ticked to under a minute left on Sunday, the Cardinals had the ball on their own 35. Trailing by a single point, they had all three of their timeouts and only needed around 30 yards to be set up for a potential game-winning field goal.

That's when Jonathan Greenard made his presence felt. The Vikings' top pass rusher exploded off the line of scrimmage, beat Arizona's left tackle around the edge, and may have gotten a slight piece of the football with his inside hand. Kyler Murray dropped the ball, so Greenard was credited for his tenth sack and third forced fumble of the season.

The Cardinals had to burn a timeout. One play later, Murray tried to escape the pocket, but Greenard sprinted to the sideline and tackled him inbounds for a short gain. It was an incredible effort, especially because it was revealed afterwards that Greenard had been dealing with an illness all week.

That play set up the critical fourth down. Even after the Cardinals' second timeout, a winded Greenard was kneeling on the Vikings' sideline, visibly out of breath as he was tended to by members of the training staff. So Kevin O'Connell called a timeout of his own, basically for the sole purpose of getting his best defensive player back on the field.

"He had put forth a great effort up to that point," defensive coordinator Brian Flores said on Tuesday. "And as you would expect, he was gassed. Going into fourth and 10, we gotta have our best player out there. So the conversation's, 'hey, we need a timeout right here.' And we still weren't sure at that point, but he grabbed his helmet and jumped back in. That's the type of player he is."

Greenard dug deep and was on the field, rushing at Murray, for the Shaq Griffin interception that sealed the Vikings' tenth win. "I'm gonna get some good sleep tonight, for sure," he said after the game.

It's been an incredible season for Greenard, the former Texans third-round pick who signed a four-year, $76 million deal with the Vikings in free agency. The box score shows 10 sacks, 14 total TFL, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 pass breakups, but he also leads all NFL players with 60 pressures this season, according to Pro Football Focus. That's a new career-high for Greenard, who had 53 pressures and 12.5 sacks for Houston last year.

The Vikings let Danielle Hunter walk this offseason, then went out and got Greenard to replace him — and the two have played at very similar levels this season. Hunter (10.5 sacks, 54 pressures) remains an elite player, but the Vikings are quite pleased with Greenard. In addition to his pass-rushing productivity, he's a great run defender who has also dropped into coverage on 50 snaps this season.

If Greenard keeps this up over the final five games of the season, he'll be deserving of Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. He's been one of the very best edge rushers in the league all year long.

"JG is just playing lights out," Flores said. "The big play at the end of the game, but just snap to snap. He's playing some high-level football. I don't know where we're at with postseason accolades, but he should be in the conversation for a number of those."