Revenge against his former team propelled this linebacker's three-sack performance against the Texans.
Playing against his former team in a 34-7 blowout win, Minnesota Vikings EDGE Jonathan Greenard had a huge game against the Houston Texans. The 27-year-old linebacker collected three sacks against C.J. Stroud, giving him four for the season. After the game, the 2020 third-round selection had choice words for the strategy implemented by the Texans' offense, according to Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle.
“First play of the game, they tried block me with a rook,” Greenard said. “They tried to block me with a rookie tight end. It’s disrespectful. I ain’t never seen that.”
On that first play, Texans tight end Cade Stover was flagged for holding, which negated a 17-yard pass play. On the play after, CJ Stroud threw an interception.
Greenard began his career with the Texans. He had a promising 2021 season with eight sacks before injuries derailed him in 2022. He rebounded nicely in 2023 by totaling 52 total tackles with 12.5 sacks. Houston opted to pivot to former Vikings' pass-rusher Danielle Hunter, leading Greenard to earn a big four-year, $76M deal with Minnesota.
A revamped Vikings defense should be making more headlines
While Sam Darnold has captured the hearts and minds of fantasy football managers, it's actually the Minnesota Vikings defense that deserves much of the credit for their 3-0 start. Only the Steelers (26) have allowed fewer points than the Vikings (30). Minnesota leads the league in sacks (16) and is tied for second in interceptions (5). They're only allowing 71.3 rushing yards per game.
Even Bill Belichick shared some sideways praise for Darnold by taking a shot at the Jets, per NFL insider Ari Meirov.
“Everybody has liked Darnold,” Belichick said. “Except the Jets.”
What's clear is that the Vikings are having a ball to start the season. Running back, Aaron Jones shared his excitement after the team's Week 3 win during a post-game interview with Tom Pelissero on the NFL Network.
“I'm having a blast. This is probably the most fun I am having in my career,” the running back told the NFL Network after the game. “We have a great group of guys in the locker room, great coaches and great fans. They affected the game many time. It was close to 100 decibels in here, and that's crazy. I've never seen that. Everyone has a piece of what's going on here.”
Jones already has 228 rushing yards and a touchdown to start the season, plus 12 catches for 97 yards and a score. In Week 4, he'll face his old team in an NFC North test against the Green Bay Packers. This divisional matchup will set the stage for what to expect among the NFC's best teams early in the season.
