Vikings star defender honored with prestigious award after a dominant November
The Minnesota Vikings are having a fantastic season and it's getting recognized by the league and media. On Thursday, the National Football League named edge rusher Jonathan Greenard the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November. Greenard has been one of the best players in the National Football League, especially on the defensive side […]
The Minnesota Vikings are having a fantastic season and it's getting recognized by the league and media. On Thursday, the National Football League named edge rusher Jonathan Greenard the NFC Defensive Player of the Month for November.
Greenard has been one of the best players in the National Football League, especially on the defensive side of the football. He took over games at times for the Vikings and the stats started to build up.
- 16 tackles
- 4.0 sacks
- 8.0 tackles for loss (most in NFC)
- 1 forced fumble
Arguably the most impressive element for Greenard was how well the run defense has fared. The Vikings allowed the fewest rushing yards (58.8) and yards per attempt (3.0) while also being the leader in pressures generated per Pro Football Focus.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked about Greenard during his Wednesday press conference and had a lot of great things to say.
"It's hard to put into words the off the field stuff, just because he's so consistently himself and authentic. What that is, is such a huge driving reason behind why he was such a marquee guy for us to bring in here, because it's the energy, it's the positivity. Then there's this workman-like approach to everything he does, you guys see it. He might be off to the side working his hand usage, or maybe it's he's complimenting one of his rush moves with working on a new tool there. Then, I think the underrated part is just the all-down aspect of the physicality, setting edges, playing blocks, and making some plays at or behind the line of scrimmage that set up his chances to then rush the passer. He's played a ton. We're trying to be aware of just how much he's played and see if we can give him some spurts here and there where we can keep his play count where we want it, but at the same time he's one of our best players and as I like to call him, he's the closer. How many times this year has he affected the quarterback, drawn a penalty, sacked the quarterback, strip sacked last week in these critical moments where you need your best players to go make those plays, and he's done it time and time again, for sure."
Greenard has more than earned this award and is now the second Vikings' player to win a Player of the Month award with quarterback Sam Darnold having done so in September.
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