EAGAN, Minn. (AP) 鈥� lined up on the left edge for a second-down rush for Minnesota late in the second quarter in Detroit, took his first steps toward the backfield, and suddenly found himself flat on the turf after being knocked down by a Lions wide receiver running a crossing route.
The blind side hit by Kalif Raymond 鈥� which Van Ginkel and his Vikings teammates said was dangerous in their plea to the NFL to clarify such blocks as illegal 鈥� would have rendered most players out of commission for the play.
But despite being on his back facing away from Lions quarterback Jared Goff, Van Ginkel had the wherewithal to watch the direction the linemen were moving, recognize the screen, and leap up in a Frankenstein-like move to grab running back Jahmyr Gibbs as soon as Goff tossed the ball and bring him down for a 1-yard loss.
Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was so impressed he highlighted the clip in his day-after meeting with the team to reflect on the last Sunday that was fueled by a that could be clearly traced to the return of Van Ginkel from a neck injury.
鈥淲hen we have Gink on the field, we鈥檙e a better football team. I don鈥檛 think he gets enough credit for how smart of a player he is,” linebacker Blake Cashman said. 鈥淭here just is a calmness when we鈥檝e got all our guys out there and we鈥檙e healthy and we can trust that everybody鈥檚 going to be in the right spot as it pertains to your assignment on the play.鈥�
Van Ginkel missed five of the first seven games. Cashman was also sidelined for four games with a hamstring injury. There was no question the Vikings defense was not the same without them, nor was defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his play-calling.
鈥淚t was good to go out there and get confidence back in and into the routine of things and the flow of the game,鈥� said Van Ginkel, a Pro Bowl pick last season who hadn’t missed a game since he was a rookie in 2019 with Miami.
Linebacker Eric Wilson called Van Ginkel a 鈥渨alking TFL,鈥� using the statistical acronym for a tackle for loss.
鈥淗e provides so many layers of things to our defense that allows Flo to be who he wants to be as a play caller,鈥� O’Connell said.
Van Ginkel, Cashman, Wilson and the rest of Minnesota’s front seven will face as difficult of a challenge this week as they’ve had this season, with Lamar Jackson and the coming to U.S. Bank Stadium this Sunday. Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP award winner and all-time leading rusher for quarterbacks in league history with just 99 career regular-season starts on his resume, poses a dual threat that’s as dangerous as any in this age of mobile passers.
鈥淚t’s just important that, whether it鈥檚 pass rushers or blitzers, everybody鈥檚 on the same plan,鈥� Cashman said. 鈥淏ecause if you have one side of the pass rush or blitzers taking inside moves, you need somebody to cover to keep that contain. Lamar, he鈥檚 got a unique and special skill set. He鈥檚 going to make those hero plays, but it鈥檚 about limiting those and causing duress.鈥�
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