Tag: Andrew Van Ginkel

Vikings receive great news on final injury report before Week 11

On Friday, ahead of Week 11, the Vikings received their healthiest injury report of the season. 

The Minnesota Vikings have been battling injuries every week of the season on both sides of the ball. The team has gained back some players and then lost some other key ones as a form of trade on injury reports.

On Friday, ahead of Week 11, the Vikings received their healthiest injury report of the season.

The Vikings have just one player on the injury report: rookie edge rusher Gabriel Murphy, who is recovering from a knee injury this past offseason. He is still within his 21-day open practice window, so he wasn’t expected to be cleared this quickly.

The best part of the injury report was the removal of Sam Darnold (shoulder), Andrew Van Ginkel (hip), Blake Cashman (elbow), and  Aaron Jones (Ribs). All those key starters had lingering injuries, and their removal in the final report is a major win before Week 11 against the Titans.

They now will have a roster that is 7-2 and at full strength against a Titans roster that is 2-7.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel was ‘banged up’ against the Colts in Week 9

The Vikings will have to keep an eye on their prized free agent signing.

Rookie Dallas Turner saw 26 snaps on Sunday in the win over the Colts, which was the most he’s seen since Week 1 against the Giants. It turns out that there is a reason why he had to play more.

When defensive coordinator Brian Flores took the podium on Tuesday to answer questions, he revealed Andrew Van Ginkel was “banged up”.

“I know that’s something that a lot of people have been talking about. I think you know, Gink (Van Ginkel) was a little bit not hurt, a minor thing that he was dealing with. So, you know, Dallas is the next guy in. He went in, you know, played well. Gink said he was ready to go back in, and we kept the same kind of grouping for the remainder of the game, and Dallas did a few good things as well. So again, that’s a deep room. There’s a lot of good players in there. And you know, by and large, we’ll go to the hot hand.”

It will be worth monitoring Van Ginkel’s health status as the week progresses.

PFF Grades: Best and worst from Vikings Week 7 loss to the Lions

The NFL season will sometimes show us what we want to see from players; other times, we may see something bad when it isn’t there. For fans and media, there has to be a way to check and balance things to avoid favoritism or bias in a negative light. …

The NFL season will sometimes show us what we want to see from players; other times, we may see something bad when it isn’t there. For fans and media, there has to be a way to check and balance things to avoid favoritism or bias in a negative light.

Thanks to PFF, we will always have an extra set of eyes to examine the football game.

The team’s loss to the Lions led to the team realizing they are, in fact, human. They showed resiliency and a drive to fight back as they made a defensive play to get the lead late in the fourth quarter. This time, more than most this year, the PFF grades are going to be very interesting.

Here are the best and worst from the PFF grades for the Vikings’ win over the New York Jets.

RB Aaron Jones 77.9

QB Sam Darnold 76.4

WR Justin Jefferson 72.2

WR Jalen Nailor 69.5

G Blake Brandel 67.4

G Ed Ingram 38

RB Ty Chandler 45.7

TE Johnny Mundt 50.8

WR Jordan Addison 55.1

TE Robert Tonyan 55.4

Aaron Jones 75.7

Sam Darnold 67.7

Ty Chandler 52.5

TE Josh Oliver 75.2

C Garrett Bradbury 69.6

G Blake Brandel 61.4

WR Jordan Addison 60.6

WR Brandon Powell 60

TE Johnny Mundt 37

G Ed Ingram 43.7

OT Brian O’Neill 49.6

WR Jalen Nailor 52.8

OT Christian Darrisaw 56.6

OT Christian Darrisaw 85.8

FB C.J. Ham 84.1

OT Brian O’Neill 78.1

TE Josh Oliver 75.9

G Blake Brandel 74.9

TE Johnny Mundt 21.6

RB Ty Chandler 25.1

C Garrett Bradbury 37.6

G Ed Ingram 64.8

RB Aaron Jones 70.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 92.1

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 80.2

SAF Joshua Metellus 73.5

DL Taki Taimani 71.7

CB Shaq Griffin 70.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 28

SAF Camryn Bynum 34.9

Edge Dallas Turner 41.2

SAF Harrison Smith 43.2

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 47

SAF Joshua Metellus 90.5

CB Byron Murphy Jr. 74.9

DL Jerry Tillery 69.7

CB Shaq Griffin 69.2

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 68.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 31

SAF Camryn Bynum 40.7

DL Harrison Phillips 45.7

DL Jonathan Bullard 51.2

SAF Harrison Smith 52.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 93.7

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 84.5

SAF Joshua Metellus 74.9

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 69.9

DL Jonathan Bullard 66

DL Pat Jones II 50.4

DL Harrison Phillips 51.5

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 55.8

Edge Dallas Turner 56.5

DL Jerry Tillery 57.1

LB Andrew Van Ginkel 89.2

DL Harrison Phillips 75.4

Shaq Griffin 66.2

Edge Jonathan Greenard 61.7

DL Pat Jones II 61.4

LB Ivan Pace Jr. 29.4

SAF Camryn Bynum 43.8

LB Kamu Grugier-Hill 45.4

SAF Harrison Smith 47.3

SAF Joshua Metellus 48.3

Could Andrew Van Ginkel win the Defensive Player of the Year Award?

The Defensive Player of the Year award was considered a virtual lock for Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson before his brutal knee injury.

The Defensive Player of the Year award was considered a virtual lock for Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson before his brutal knee injury. Since his injury, we have discussed a handful of defensive players, minus one that deserves it.

Andrew Van Ginkel has been playing as well as any defender in the NFL.

Despite that, no one has been highlighting his performance this year. The entire Vikings defense has been playing well as a unit, so it is easy to blend in, but his work needs to be highlighted.

Through six games, Andrew Van Ginkel has 26 total tackles, six tackles for a loss, five sacks, two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns. If his name was Fred Warner, T.J. Watt, or Myles Garrett, he would be a national star this year.

Sooner or later, if he keeps playing this way, folks around the NFL will be forced to take notice. For now, he will remain a free agent steal for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and a menace for Brian Flores in his defense.

Justin Jefferson had a historic day against the Lions in Week 7

With 81 yards receiving on Sunday, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson moved into 6th place on the team’s receiving yards list.

The Minnesota Vikings came up just short in their bid to beat the Detroit Lions in Week 7 and remain one of the league’s two undefeated teams. Despite jumping out to an early 10-0 lead on the Lions, the Vikings gave up three straight scoring drives to fall into a 21-10 hole before mounting a comeback of their own, but ultimately falling just short.

The loss is a tough one for the Vikings and their fans, but it didn’t come without some highlights. There was the continued dominance of edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel, a spectacular scoop-and-score fumble return by linebacker Ivan Pace, Jr., and a performance by wide receiver Justin Jefferson that saw him climb up the Vikings’ all-time receiving list in two categories.

Early in the third quarter, Jefferson came down with a highlight-reel grab to come down with his fifth touchdown of the season, prompting a “I’m like that!” statement from Jefferson before hitting his patented Griddy celebration.

That touchdown was Jefferson’s 35th of his career, breaking a tie with wide receiver Ahmad Rashad for the seventh-most receiving touchdowns in Minnesota Vikings’ history. But Jefferson’s historic day didn’t end there.

Jefferson ended the day with seven receptions for 81 yards and a touchdown. Those 81 yards were good enough to move Jefferson into 6th place all-time on the receiving yards list, passing Sammy White. With just four yards in Thursday’s Week 8 game against the Rams, Jefferson will pass another Vikings’ all-time great, Jake Reed, for fifth place on that list, leaving him behind only Adam Thielen, Anthony Carter, Randy Moss, and Cris Carter.

Jefferson’s 81 yards on Sunday gives him 6,430 yards in his career in just 66 games, giving Jefferson by far the most receiving yards per game (97.7) of any receiver in team history — among receivers with at least double-digit receptions, with Moss a distant second at 82.4.

WATCH: Team’s reaction to Andrew Van Ginkel’s interception against Jets

On Wednesday, the Vikings’ social media teams wanted to share a different view of Van Ginkel’s interception on Sunday. 

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense has been playing at an elite level ever since their first defensive snaps of the year against the New York Giants. They got a defensive touchdown on an interception from Andrew Van Ginkel, and on Sunday, the Jets had a repeat performance.

On Wednesday, the Vikings’ social media teams wanted to share a different view of Van Ginkel’s interception on Sunday.

The interception was Van Ginkel’s second defensive touchdown, and paired with his sack totals, he has a chance to win the Defensive Player of the Year award if he keeps this up. Brian Flores’s work has been fundamental to the Vikings’ success this year, but the major plays he has shown to make cannot be overstated.

You can see how much his play means to this team from the reaction. They are all behind each other every snap and every play, and it speaks to the work of both the front office and coaching staff that they achieved that level of parity.

https://twitter.com/Vikings/status/1844075357361799646

WATCH: Former Wisconsin linebacker records his second pick-six of 2024 season

WATCH: Former Wisconsin linebacker records his second pick-six of 2024 season

Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel recorded his second pick-six of the 2024 season on Sunday vs. the New York Jets.

Van Ginkel, who is one of several former UW stars currently playing in the NFL at the linebacker position, picked off four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers late in the first quarter of the Vikings’ Week 5 game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.

On a third-down play, Van Ginkel intercepted a pass intended for wide receiver Garrett Wilson and took it 63 yards back to the end zone. The score pushed Minnesota ahead 10-0. Rodgers ended with three interceptions, and Minnesota ultimately prevailed 23-17.

Van Ginkel walked off the gridiron with the pick-six, one tackle, one pass deflection and one quarterback hit. He now leads the NFL in interceptions returned for touchdowns with two.

Here is the entire play and call from across the pond:

With the win, Minnesota improved to an NFL-best 5-0 on the 2024 season. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ unit has allowed 17 points or fewer in four of those victories. Thanks to Van Ginkel, it has also scored 14.

Andrew Van Ginkel with pick-six of Aaron Rodgers for Vikings

Andrew Van Ginkel with a pick-six of Aaron ROdgers

The Minnesota Vikings were wreaking havoc against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets in London on Sunday.

The Purple had a pair of interceptions against the Jets’ veteran quarterback, one that turned into immediate points.

Andrew Van Ginkel picked off Rodgers and took it to the house for a touchdown.

It was the fifth pick-six thrown by Rodgers in his long career.

The play put the Vikings up 10-0. They added another score in the second quarter to go up 17-0 when C.J. Ham scored on a two-yard run.

WATCH: Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel makes a house call in London

The Minnesota Vikings stumbled out of the gate against the Jets in London as the NFL kicked off its 2024 international series of games.

The Minnesota Vikings stumbled out of the gate against the Jets in London as the NFL kicked off its 2024 international series of games. They recovered quickly, though, and were up 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Brian Flores and his Viking defense are back at it again early against the Jets. They caused two Aaron Rodgers interceptions while only allowing three completions in the first quarter. The second of those two interceptions was run all the way back as Andrew Van Ginkel did his best doctor impression with his second house call of the year.

Andrew Van Ginkel is now third on the team in touchdowns, with two, trailing only Aaron Jones (2) and Justin Jefferson (3). The defense, led by Van Ginkel, hopes to keep momentum on its side as it looks to keep Aaron Rodgers on his toes.

Keep up with the Vikings and Jets action on NFL Network early on Sunday morning.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel hints not everyone was happy with defense’s performance

The Vikings’ DC was not pleased with his team’s second half play.

The Vikings defeated Green Bay 31-29 this past Sunday to move to 4-0, but it got to be tight. Minnesota held a 28-7 halftime lead before allowing the Packers to get back into the game. Minnesota recovered an onside kick to win the game.

Minnesota’s defense has been one of the best, if not the best, in the NFL through four weeks. Still, linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel informed the media that defensive coordinator Brian Floris was unhappy with the Packers’ win.

Van Ginkel said Flores told the players that the play did not meet the standards. The Minnesota defense gave up several chunk plays, which had a snowball effect in the second half. Flores told his team that there were 10-12 plays in the second half that were negative for the Vikings’ defense and that it was unacceptable.

The Vikings lead the league with 17 sacks and have forced three turnovers on the season. Flores will get his defense ready to face the New York Jets and Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.