Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard will miss the rest of the season with a left shoulder injury, coach Kevin O’Connell said Monday.
Greenard’s injury will require surgery.
“It was something he was playing through,” O’Connell said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN. “He knew he would not be able to put this behind him until probably he got it fixed, whenever that was going to be. And just looking at coming out of [Sunday night] and aggravating it and just it feels like the best time to do that now.”
Greenard initially appeared on the practice report with a shoulder injury in Week 11, having injured it in the Week 10 game against the Ravens. He missed two games before returning to play 15, 29 and 44 snaps the past three games.
Greenard aggravated the injury in Sunday night’s 34-26 victory over the Cowboys.
He finishes his season with 38 tackles, three sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
Greenard had double-digit sacks in 2023 with Houston and in 2024 in his first season in Minnesota.
Rookie Dallas Turner is expected to see more snaps in Greenard’s absence.
Vikings Clips
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s good Sunday night in Dallas included a memorable one-yard rushing touchdown.
McCarthy faked a handoff in the second quarter and then rolled to his left to find nothing but open field in front of him for as easy a score as any player could hope to have. McCarthy had so much space that he began celebrating on his way into the end zone with his version of the “Griddy” dance that teammate Justin Jefferson has made famous.
After the 34-26 win was in the books, head coach Kevin O’Connell praised the play — “I knew the play and I knew what was happening, and the action was so good I even had to take a double take right there” — but said he “would not classify as special” the way McCarthy finished the play. The quarterback acknowledged that he knew the premature celebration would rankle his coach.
“I did it in practice, and I was told not to do it,” McCarthy said. “So, just me being who I am, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m more enticed to do it.’ But if it’s that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what -- and be coachable and do what my coach says. So yeah, I’ll definitely get a minus for that one.”
The win was the second in a row for the Vikings, but they were eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff. That makes McCarthy’s development even more of a focus in the final three weeks and the Vikings will prefer more reasons to celebrate even if they don’t love exactly how it unfolds.
The Cowboys began the day knowing they needed to win out and have the Eagles go 2-2 in the final four games to win the NFC East. That scenario would have left the Cowboys 10-6-1 and the Eagles 10-7.
But it was not to be.
Hours after the Eagles shut out the Raiders 31-0, the Cowboys stunk it up at home. They lost to the Vikings 34-26.
“We certainly didn’t think we’d be here in this kind of shape with three games to go and be behind the eight ball the way we are,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said afterward. “It’s very disappointing. I’m really, obviously, very disappointed for our fans. I’m disappointed for these players. I didn’t expect that. I thought we could come out here and on both sides of the ball make a better accounting of ourselves. Minnesota did the best job out there today on both sides of the ball.”
The Cowboys aren’t eliminated from the playoffs, but their odds are longer than long to make the postseason. Realistically, they are done, something quarterback Dak Prescott acknowledged postgame.
“It’s shitty,” Prescott said at one point, calling Sunday one of the toughest losses of his career.
The Cowboys know where they stand after a second consecutive loss: They will miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season.
“I don’t know how to describe a miracle,” Jones said. “I know it would take a very tight circumstance to get us in. We expected that. We thought we’d have to win out to have a little room, but not a lot. Now, of course, I know how to count.”
The Vikings had nothing to play for but pride in Sunday Night Football. That was enough for them to put a serious dent in the Cowboys’ playoff hopes.
Minnesota upset Dallas, 34-26.
The Cowboys aren’t eliminated in playoff contention, but their odds aren’t good after a second consecutive loss dropped them to 6-7-1. The Vikings, who are eliminated from playoff contention, improved to 6-8.
The Cowboys punted only once, but turned it over on downs once and Brandon Aubrey missed two field goals. They scored only two touchdowns, going 2-for-12 on third down, as they settled for Aubrey field goals of 37, 26, 41 and 41 yards.
They outgained the Vikings 423 to 327.
J.J. McCarthy’s first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by blitzing safety Donovan Wilson and McCarthy, in an attempt to knock it down, tipped it to Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The interception gave the Cowboys the ball at the Vikings’ 35, and they took an early 7-0 lead on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard run.
The Cowboys led 14-7 on Malik Davis’ 1-yard run early in the second quarter, but the crowd of 92,991 had little to cheer thereafter.
Will Reichard’s 53-yard field goal with 1:08 remaining, which came after the Cowboys turned it over on downs at the Minnesota 39, was the death knell for Dallas. The Cowboys kicked a field goal with 19 seconds left, but failed to recover the onside kick to end it.
Dak Prescott finished 23-of-38 for 294 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 111 yards, and Javonte Williams rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries despite injuring his shoulder on the first possession.
McCarthy was 15-of-24 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Both scoring tosses went to Jalen Nailor for 20 and 4 yards. T.J. Hockenson caught four passes for 66 yards.
Several players left late in the game with injuries. For the Cowboys, Quinnen Williams went in for a concussion check and left tackle Nate Thomas didn’t return from a shoulder injury. The Vikings lost edge rusher Jonathan Greenard (shoulder) and right tackle Brian O’Neill (ankle).
Jalen Nailor’s second touchdown might turn out to be the Cowboys’ death knell.
The Vikings wide receiver caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy, increasing Minnesota’s lead to 31-23 with 9:12 remaining.
The Cowboys won’t be eliminated from the playoffs with a loss, but they would need a miracle for their season to extend beyond the regular season.
The Vikings drove 51 yards in five plays after Brandon Aubrey missed his second field goal of the night. His 59-yard try was wide right.
Josh Oliver and T.J. Hockenson each had a catch of 18 yards in the possession.
McCarthy is now 14- of-23 for 244 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
The Vikings lead the Cowboys 24-23 with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter.
The teams were tied 17-17 at halftime before the Cowboys had field-goal drives of 50 and 67 yards to open the second half. They led 23-17 on Brandon Aubrey’s kicks of 26 and 41 yards.
But the Vikings went 70 yards in eight plays on their second drive of the second half to take back the lead they last had at 17-14.
C.J. Ham scored on a 1-yard run.
J.J. McCarthy had throws of 29 yards to T.J. Hockenson, 23 yards to Jalen Nailor and 10 yards to Justin Jefferson in the drive.
McCarthy is now 11-of-20 for 204 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Cowboys running back Javonte Williams hadn’t played since the team’s first possession when he scored on a 1-yard run.
He injured his shoulder, keeping him out the rest of the first half.
The Cowboys added padding under Williams’ shoulder pad, and he opened the second half with runs of 15 and 3 yards.
Malik Davis is the only healthy running back active tonight, with fullback Hunter Luepke now ruled out with a concussion.
The Cowboys went 50 yards in seven plays for a go-ahead Brandon Aubrey field goal of 26 yards. KaVontae Turpin took the second-half kickoff 40 yards to set up the field-goal drive.
The Cowboys now lead 20-17.
The Vikings played the first half as if they have as much on the line as the Cowboys in the first half of Sunday Night Football.
The Cowboys, who are fighting for their playoff lives, are tied with the Vikings 17-17 at halftime. The Vikings were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the day.
The Vikings have outgained the Cowboys 180 to 169.
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor and ran for 1-yard touchdown on a bootleg on fourth down. The Vikings reached the Dallas 11 on their final possession of the half but had to settle for 29-yard Will Reichard field goal and a 17-14 lead with 1:48 remaining until halftime.
The Cowboys tied it on Brandon Aubrey’s 37-yard field goal with three seconds left in the half.
McCarthy’s first pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by blitzing safety Donovan Wilson and McCarthy, in an attempt to knock it down, tipped it to Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The interception gave the Cowboys the ball at the Vikings 35, and they took an early 7-0 lead on Javonte Williams’ 1-yard run.
Williams has not returned since because of a shoulder injury.
Backup running back Malik Davis had the Cowboys’ second touchdown on a 1-yard run.
Aubrey, who earlier had a 6-yard run for a first down on a fake field goal that set up Williams’ touchdown, missed a 51-yard field goal try wide right. That would have broken a 14-14 tie.
Instead, Reichard’s kick gave the Vikings the three-point lead until Aubrey got another chance.
McCarthy is 8-of-13 for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception, with Jordan Addison catching two for 66. Aaron Jones has six carries for 16 yards and three catches for 31 yards. Justin Jefferson has one reception for 12 yards.
Dak Prescott has completed 10 of 18 passes for 120 yards, with CeeDee Lamb catching three for 51. George Pickens has one catch for 10 yards.
The Vikings were eliminated from the playoff race earlier Sunday. They aren’t playing like it Sunday night.
J.J. McCarthy’s 1-yard run on a bootleg on fourth down has tied the Vikings with the Cowboys 14-14 with 9:28 remaining until halftime.
The touchdown was set up by McCarthy’s 58-yard pass to Jordan Addison to the 4-yard line on third-and-8. Addison was so wide open he should have scored, but he had to wait on the underthrown pass and Caelen Carson caught up to Addison to drag him down.
Two plays later, the Vikings scored on McCarthy’s 3-yard pass to Jordan Jefferson, but the touchdown was nullified by an illegal formation penalty. Finally, three plays after that, McCarthy walked it in.
It reminded Cowboys fans of Peyton Manning’s bootleg at AT&T Stadium in 2013 when the Broncos beat Dallas 51-48.
The Cowboys lead the Vikings 14-7, but they could finish the game without running back Javonte Williams.
Williams injured his shoulder on the Cowboys’ first scoring drive when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 8:23 left in the first quarter. He is questionable to return, and the Cowboys have added padding inside his shoulder pad in an attempt to get him back on the field.
Backup tailback Malik Davis and fullback Hunter Luepke have carried the load since, including a 1-yard touchdown run that put the Cowboys back in front 14-7 only eight seconds into the second quarter.
The Vikings tied the game 7-7, using a short field to go 53 yards in only two plays. J.J. McCarthy hit Aaron Jones for an 18-yard gain before Reddy Steward pulled him down with a horse-collar tackle for another 15 yards. On the next play, McCarthy hit Jalen Nailor for a 20-yard score.
