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.

ESPN recognizes Vikings strong offseason playing key role in start

The Minnesota Vikings and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have made free agency one of their key traits for team-building success.

The Minnesota Vikings and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have made free agency one of their key traits for team-building success. The 2024 season starting as great as it has speaks to his and his staff’s eye for talent.

Those outside the building are recognizing that trait.

Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN discussed what offseason acquisitions are making the most significant impact for their teams, and the Vikings mentioned three players. Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and Blake Cashman completely revamped this linebacker group for the Vikings. They made an impact in the first game and haven’t stopped since.

Constant pressures by Brian Flores with this group have the Vikings leading in this category. The other two can step up when one player gets out of the game. They are creating constant chaos, and it is reflected when you catch the opposing quarterback play.

This weekend, they will look to create more chaos in front of international fans as they face Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets.

Defense has Vikings in top 5 of NFL analyst’s latest power rankings

Thanks to a sweltering defense led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Minnesota Vikings have entered the top 5 of new power rankings

It’s not a stretch to say not many — maybe no one — saw a 3-0 start to the season coming for the Minnesota Vikings. Many could have predicted an opening-week victory over the New York Giants. But if you had told someone that the Vikings would go on to defeat the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans back-to-back, they likely would have laughed at you.

The Vikings’ hot start to the season has a lot to do with another unexpected aspect of the season: high-quality play from quarterback Sam Darnold. Darnold has come in and taken to head coach Kevin O’Connell’s offense quickly and, in turn, has experienced some of the most success he’s seen in his career.

How well the defense is performing shouldn’t be surprising to anyone. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has worked wonders with this team’s defense and has them becoming the bane of offensive coordinator’s existence. While their performance may not be surprising, just how good they’re playing shouldn’t be taken for granted.

That defensive performance has the Vikings breaking into the top 5 of the latest power rankings from Sports Illustrated’s NFL analyst Conor Orr. Orr has a glowing review of Flores and what he’s doing with the 2024 Minnesota Vikings defense, saying:

What has been masterful about Brian Flores’s defensive performances to me is that, like some of the other Bill Belichick disciples who have left New England only to commit the same sins—loading up on former Patriots, paying them big money and trying to run the same defense—Flores has loaded up on former Dolphins and Patriots. However, he has taken those players and plugged them into a whirlwind defensively that is zigging while the rest of the NFL is sitting in Cover 2 and praying for no big plays (sorry gang, Andy Dalton is back and that’s not gonna happen). While it’s harder to maintain a great offense than a great defense, and at some point the referees and the league will step in to goose scoring, we need to take note of how wonderful and maddening this defense has been over the course of three games.

Two former Dolphins — edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill — were instrumental in the Vikings’ upset victory over the Texans on Saturday. Van Ginkel, the Vikings’ leading tackler on the day, was all over the field for the Vikings’ defense, making tackles at every level, including getting one sack on Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Grugier-Hill stepped in on short notice to fill in for an injured Ivan Pace, Jr. and made several key plays for the defense. In the first quarter, Grugier-Hill came down with a huge interception after defensive tackle Harrison Phillips tipped the Stroud pass, ending Stroud’s NFL-leading consecutive passes without an interception streak.

It was a dominating performance all around, and that has been the case all season long for the Vikings, as it was to close out the season in 2023. The Vikings defense kept Minnesota in a number of games that they probably had no right being in, and kept the team in the playoff race for far longer than they should have been given the injuries and offensive struggles they experienced.

Now that the offense has at least somewhat caught up to the defense, the Vikings could be a dangerous team from now on.

Former Wisconsin linebacker continues breakout 2024 season with Vikings

Former Wisconsin linebacker continues breakout 2024 season with Vikings

Former Wisconsin linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel led the Minnesota Vikings defense in the team’s 34-7 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday.

For the third consecutive week, the former Badger game-breaker registered a sack. Van Ginkel also notched six total tackles, including one tackle for loss, and a quarterback hit.

Van Ginkel has quickly emerged as a mainstay on the Vikings’ defense after signing with the team this offseason.

The Rock Valley, Iowa, native recorded his second career pick six against the New York Giants in Week 1. Since then, he has been nearly unstoppable. He has 14 total tackles, 11 solo tackles, three sacks, two pass deflections, four QB hits, one interception and one touchdown in three games in 2024.

Here’s a clip of Van Ginkel taking down Houston’s superstar quarterback C.J. Stroud on Sunday:

During his two-year tenure at UW, the 2018 third-team All-Big Ten member started in 10 of his 27 appearances. The Iowa native logged 99 tackles, including 19.5 TFLs, and registered 2 sacks.

The Vikings will be back in action against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Sept. 29 in Wisconsin.

Some light gets shed on Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel’s injury status

The Minnesota Vikings went into Week 1 relatively healthy and came out of it with a loaded injury report. 

The Minnesota Vikings went into Week 1 relatively healthy and came out of it with a loaded injury report. Several prominent starters made the injury report, some not surprising. However, one player was on the list with a did not practice designation.

That player was linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel.

Van Ginkel popped up on the injury report with a foot injury. That alarmed some folks because it required him to have surgery this offseason. Thankfully, Kevin O’Connell confirmed that the move was precautionary to ensure he remained fresh. They know they are thin at several key positions, including linebacker, so preserving him is crucial to the team’s long-term success.

He is expected to play Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

Van Ginkel is coming off one of the better days of his NFL career. He made a great play on a pass from Daniel Jones to score a touchdown off of an interception. While doing that, he also made himself one of the leaders on this newly revamped Brian Flores defense.

Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel pops up Vikings injury report for Week 2

A notable name popped up on their first injury report for Week 2: Andrew Van Ginkel.

The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively healthy through the first week of the 2024 season. They went into Week 1 with no Vikings players on their final injury report, but fast-forward to the first report of the new week, and they aren’t so lucky.

A notable name popped up on their first injury report for Week 2: Andrew Van Ginkel.

The top performer of their dominant Week 1 win made the report as someone who did not practice. He is listed with a foot injury, and no other context or updates were provided at the time of publication.

Other names on the list include Jalen Nailor and his ankle injury that was on the report for some reports last week. Two other starters also made the list in Jordan Addison and Garrett Bradbury with not practicing and being limited, respectively.

Addison is another notable name that will be worth monitoring as we get closer to Sunday. For Van Ginkel, however, he is going to be necessary as missing him would be a monumental loss to the Vikings’ defense.