EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings pass rusher Jonathan Greenard has been all smiles since arriving in Minnesota.
Just check out his Instagram page.
The 27-year-old Georgia native posted a photo earlier this week of him smiling while staring straight into a camera as he pulled down Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco for one of his two sacks on Sunday night.
"I was extremely gassed in that play," Greenard laughed. "I was probably breathing or exhaling at that point — definitely was excited, too — but I wasn't really looking at the camera or thinking about the camera."
The smile shot, which was taken by team photographer Alli Rusco, is already hanging up in TCO Performance Center, and while Greenard was plenty excited, one person, certainly, was not — Flacco.
The Colts were trying to rally from a 21-10 deficit when Greenard sacked the 17-year veteran twice during the drive. Indianapolis went on to kick a field goal to cut the deficit to one score, but the Vikings' defense slowed the Colts' offense just enough to help Minnesota (6-2) snap a two-game losing skid and overtake the No. 2 spot in the NFC North.
"Getting back to the basics was one of the biggest things that we had to do," Greenard said. "Those losses helped us do that, and we got the 'W' on Sunday."
Minnesota is ranked fourth in the league in sacks per game (3.4) and is one of just two teams this season with three players who have five or more sacks. Greenard leads the way with seven.
"I'm playing more free, more comfortable," said the 2020 third-round pick, "and feeding off my teammates, for sure."
Greenard was brought in to help replace All-Pro edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who, coincidentally, signed with Greenard's former team in Houston.
But filling Hunter's shoes is a big ask. The former third-round pick is third all-time on the Vikings sacks list (87.5) and was coming off a career year in 2023 where he amassed career highs in sacks (16.5), tackles (83) and QB pressures (41).
However, Greenard said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores kept things simple.
"They just told me to be myself," he said. "Didn't really do anything different, same thing I did, pretty much, that season last year. They said just bring that same mentality, be yourself and everything else will take care of itself."
So far this season, Greenard is on pace to set new career highs in sacks, quarterback hits, tackles and tackles for loss. He currently leads the league in QB hurries, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, and is tied for fourth in quarterback pressures.
Not bad for a guy just eight games into the first season with a new team and a new defensive scheme.
"Definitely comfortable as far as the scheme goes, but I definitely want to continue to progress overall because I know the next step (where) we could go now that we have a good, true grasp of the scheme that we're running and how teams are going to attack us," Greenard said. "Our next step is executing and stopping the plays that they're getting on us from other teams, and I think that's when we'll see a lot more success."
The Vikings were gashed in their two losses against the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams, allowing 30 or more points and nearly 400 yards per game in each of the two contests.
"It was a little bit humbling for us," said Greenard. "I think we needed, just to kind of get our juices going, back to understanding, like, "Listen, it doesn't matter what you did last week, we have to carry on the same mindset.'"
Greenard and the Vikings hit the road this weekend for a meeting with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have lost seven of nine games this season, including three of their last four. The offensive line has improved as of late, only allowing a combined three sacks over the past three weeks, so Greenard and the pass rushers could have their hands full against a unit that seems to be settling in.
"We have that target on our back. Teams are going to bring their absolute best," said Greenard. "Whether they run plays they haven't run before, knowing that they're specifically to beat us. A lot of things that we did see in these past two losses were they were running plays we hadn't seen before, but we understand that that's why you run these plays, to beat certain plays on our defense."
