The Minnesota Vikings have had a very disappointing season so far in 2025, but they got a bit of a reprieve with a 34-26 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 15. However, even the wins this year for the Vikings have come with caveats.
On Sunday night, it was the loss of star pass rusher Jonathan Greenard. Greenard left the game with a shoulder injury on Sunday, and the injury will require surgery that will end his 2025 season, according to ESPN's Kevin Seifert.
Head coach Kevin O'Connell announced the news on Monday.
“I just want to say, as a captain and leader, he's had a huge impact,” O'Connell said, via Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
Greenard has been one of the best pass rushers in football over the last three seasons, eclipsing the 12-sack threshold in both 2023 and 2024. However, he has just three sacks in 12 games this season as he has battled through nagging injuries, including this shoulder problem that he re-aggravated in Week 15.
Before leaving Sunday's game, Greenard was having a big impact with four tackles, three QB hits and a sack of Dak Prescott. Despite some rocky moments, the Vikings' defense bowed up in the red zone and in the second half, keeping the Cowboys out of the end zone for the final two quarters to get to 6-8.
Minnesota is already eliminated from the playoffs, so Kevin O'Connell and company will be focused on spending the final three games developing quarterback JJ McCarthy. Despite some ugly moments this season, McCarthy played arguably the best game of his career on Sunday night and is starting to show signs that can get the Vikings excited heading into 2026.
This loss also basically extinguishes any hope the Cowboys had of getting into the playoffs. Dallas is now 6-7-1 and is eliminated from the wild card race in the NFC. The Cowboys' only path to the playoffs now is to win out and have the Eagles lose out, which seems very unlikely given the remaining schedules for both teams.
