Inside The Vikings

Jonathan Greenard: Strip-sack is 'best feeling in the world,' sorry to my wife

Greenard gave quite the line about his big play in the postgame locker room.
Will Ragatz|
Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) reacts during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard (58) reacts during the second quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Vikings

Vikings star pass rusher Jonathan Greenard gave quite the line after Monday night's win over the Bears when asked about his strip-sack of Caleb Williams in the first half.

"I tell everybody, a strip-sack is the best feeling in the world," he said. "Sorry to my wife, by the way."

"Do you really mean that?" KSTP's Darren Wolfson asked as a follow-up.

"100 percent," a smiling Greenard replied. "She knows. She knows what's up."

Greenard's big play in the first quarter was one of the key moments in the game. Matched up with rookie left tackle Kiran Amegadjie, who was making his first career start, Greenard burst around the edge and blindsided Williams with a huge hit before he could release his pass. The ball fell to the turf and was scooped up by Blake Cashman. Five plays later, the Vikings scored a touchdown that made it a 10-0 game. The Bears never got any closer than that for the rest of the night.

It's been an incredible season for Greenard, who signed a four-year deal with the Vikings in free agency after spending his first four seasons with the Texans. The sack was his 11th, which is tied for fifth-most in the NFL. The forced fumble was his fourth. He and former defensive player of the year T.J. Watt are the only two players in the league with 11 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Greenard recorded six quarterback pressures on Monday and is third in the league with 66 this season, according to PFF. The 27-year-old broke out last year with 12.5 sacks and 53 pressures for Houston, but he's ascended to another level in Brian Flores' defense in 2024. Greenard has been Minnesota's best defensive player this year and deserves to be in the mix for All-Pro honors.

He also might have dropped the funniest soundbite of the Vikings' season.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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