Vikings Player Earned an Award
The Minnesota Vikings had a flawless November in the win column, triumphing in all four contests, which was a nice bounceback after losing the final two matchups in October to the Rams and Lions. Brian Flores and his defense allowed only 60 points in those four games, functioning as the team’s driving force in that month.
Vikings Player Earns Monthly Honor
Flores has put his players in the right position to make plays, consistently flustering opposing signal-callers. That starts on the line of scrimmage, where usually Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard patrol the edges.
Both defenders arrived on the first day of free agency to fill the vacancy following Danielle Hunter’s departure and, undoubtedly, have been excellent throughout the first 12 games with the purple team.
Greenard was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for his stellar performances in November, including four sacks, 16 tackles, and eight for loss.
Over the course of the season, Greenard has been a bonafide Defensive Player of the Year candidate, posting ten sacks and 41 tackles in 12 games. He’s also Pro Football Focus’ leader in QB pressures, which surely is impressive for a player barely anyone had heard of before his 2023 breakout campaign with the Texans.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell just calls his top defender The Closer.
“As I like to call him, he’s The Closer,” O’Connell said on Wednesday. “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.”
Greenard is the third recent Viking to win NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors. The previous two were Za’Darius Smith in 2022 and Danielle Hunter in 2023.
Minnesota’s defense has undergone a fascinating development over the last few years. From the final days of the Mike Zimmer era with an underwhelming defense considering the unit in the coach’s prime, the franchise turned to Ed Donatell as its defensive coordinator in 2022.
Donatell, however, led a subpar defense in his first season, so the Vikings decided they didn’t need a second attempt and handed that side of the ball to Flores, who has rebuilt the defense in those two seasons.
In 2024, the Vikings rank at or near the top in most defensive categories and metrics, including sacks and run defense, and the new Defensive Player of the Month is instrumental to both.
Greenard signed a four-year contract for $76 million, and so far, he has been well worth that investment.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt