Coming off his best game of the 2022 NFL season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw on Thursday will return to the field where he made one of the most memorable plays in San Francisco’s recent history.
Greenlaw gave the 49ers one of their two road victories against the Seattle Seahawks in the last decade when he stuffed tight end Jacob Hollister at the goal line to secure home-field advantage throughout the 2019 NFL playoffs.
He’ll look to replicate that success during “Thursday Night Football” at Lumen Field, where San Francisco is just 5-16 since 2002 -- but this time, Greenlaw is in the middle of a Pro Bowl-caliber season with a chance to help the 49ers clinch the NFC West.
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“He’s a fantastic player,” 49ers general manager John Lynch told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco on the latest episode of “49ers Game Plan.” “... I played with one of the greatest linebackers of all time in Derrick Brooks, and that game last week was reminiscent to the games that I watched Derrick Brooks play.”
Greenlaw finished Sunday’s game against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers with 15 total tackles, one pass breakup and one interception -- and he even got Brady to sign the ball after the game.
Greenlaw’s 103 total tackles on the season puts him over 100 for the first time in his career and among the NFL’s top 15 linebackers in that statistical category this season.
“Covering a lot of space underneath, we put a lot on Dre,” Lynch continued. “But then not just making the tackle but just not giving an extra, another inch.
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“When he hits them, they go down. Nothing illustrates that better than the tackle he made in Seattle … That play will go down in history, but I think Dre has taken his game to new heights.”
Lynch explained that Greenlaw has been able to elevate his game not only through his own hard work but also thanks to those around him -- players like Fred Warner and, in 2019, Kwon Alexander, along with linebackers coach Johnny Holland and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
“[Greenlaw has] been coached really well,” Lynch told Maiocco. “He’s incredibly talented, and we’re really seeing him flourish. I think he’s playing as well as anybody in the league at the linebacker spot -- and that’s including the guy that’s right next to him in Fred Warner, who’s as good as there is.
“So, we’re very blessed to have those two guys playing for us, along with Azeez [Al-Shaair].”
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As the 49ers look for their third win since 2010 in Seattle on Thursday, they’ll certainly need “Big Play Dre” to show up once again.
But if the linebacker continues to play at the level he has shown this season, San Francisco can count on Greenlaw.