Jonathan Greenard and J.J. McCarthy crossed paths for the first time Sunday, and Greenard came away with the bigger moment.
The former Vikings teammates were on opposite sides of Giants-Eagles in Week 9, with Minnesota on a bye. Greenard, now with Philadelphia, got to McCarthy early in the game and delivered his first sack as an Eagle on the Giants’ second drive. On third-and-four at the Eagles’ 21-yard line, McCarthy dropped back and Greenard came off the edge to bring him down.
That play mattered right away. The Eagles forced a stop after the sack, and the Giants settled for a field goal. It also gave Greenard his first sack of the season in Philadelphia’s ninth regular-season game.
McCarthy’s afternoon ended with a hip injury in the third quarter, and he left the game early before returning just before the fourth quarter. He finished with five sacks, along with 101 passing yards and 11 rushing yards.
For Greenard, the sack was a welcome breakthrough in what has been a frustrating start with the Eagles. He had not recorded a sack before Week 9 and came into the game with just five pressures.
His season had already been slowed by a pectoral injury that kept him out of training camp and the first two regular-season games, and he wound up missing three games in the first eight weeks. Before facing the Giants, his numbers stood at five pressures, three hurries, two tackles, one quarterback hit and one forced fumble, with just one pressure over his previous three games.
The Eagles acquired Greenard in the 2026 NFL Draft for two third-round picks, then handed him a $98 million contract extension after the trade. Even with that deal, he has been labeled one of the biggest busts of the NFL season because he hasn’t matched expectations in Philadelphia.
McCarthy’s path since leaving Minnesota has looked different. He lost the Vikings’ starting quarterback job and fell to third-string to open the season before Minnesota dealt him to New York for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
The Giants got him into action quickly. He logged two rushing yards in a tie against the Washington Commanders, nearly sparked a comeback against the New Orleans Saints with 243 passing yards and one touchdown, and then made his first start for New York against the Houston Texans.
In that game, he completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 252 yards and helped the Giants to a 27-21 overtime win.
The two players have taken very different routes since leaving Minnesota, though both have started to find some traction lately. Even so, the Vikings appear to have been better off moving on from both.
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