The Minnesota Vikings finally snapped their losing streak versus the Detroit Lions. It was the first victory after five consecutive […]
The Minnesota Vikings finally snapped their losing streak versus the Detroit Lions. It was the first victory after five consecutive defeats against Dan Campbell’s squad, and they did it on the road following a nasty blowout loss on national television.
Vikings Think the Lions Played a Little Dirty
One thing has become clear over the years: the two rivals might respect each other, but they sure as hell don’t like each other.
From Sunday’s game, some minor trash talk surfaced, such as an Amik Robertson vs. Justin Jefferson slow-motion clip, or quarterback J.J. McCarthy using a little kneecap reference on social media to take a shot at Campbell’s famous opening presser.
Of course, that’s part of the game and certainly harmless. However, we also saw potentially dangerous stuff unfold, like a blindside block on returning star defender Andrew Van Ginkel.
On a screen pass, he wanted to rush the passer and got blindsided by Lions receiver Kalif Raymond. The Pro Bowler was knocked to the ground and still managed to make the play. Here is a clip of analyst Brian Baldinger breaking it down.
On Wednesday, Van Ginkel told reporters that he didn’t particularly enjoy that play: “I kinda thought it was a dirty play. Obviously, getting hit on the side, I’m just going to pass rush, and all of a sudden, I get whiplash because a guy blindsides me. I’m not gonna go into too much detail about it, but I wasn’t too pleased with it, and I think that it’s something that the league should look at, if it’s something they need to take out of the game, because we can’t be doing that.”
Van Ginkel suffered a neck injury in training camp and suited up in the season opener. A low block ended with him landing on his head, reaggravating his neck injury while also sustaining a concussion. The second-year Viking missed the following contest and returned briefly in Week 3, playing only eight snaps.
Since then, he had missed every game until the matchup against Detroit.
Van Ginkel added, “I knew instantly. When you’re pass-rushing like that, you’re not anticipating someone blindsiding you from the side. I’m trying to get off the ball, get on a good pass rush. I had no clue he was there. How are we supposed to protect ourselves in those cases?”
He surely has a point. There’s not much he could have done to protect himself in that situation.
And the playmaker wasn’t the only person employed by the Vikings to take offense on the block. Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota’s skipper, called it a “blindside block” too. “I showed the team a clip of him today, he got hit from outside, got knocked from kind of a blindside block on a screen, and he’s on the ground but still recognizes that Gibbs had the ball on a screen and he makes the play.”
Though his stats didn’t show it, Van Ginkel was fantastic in his return to action, showing no rust whatsoever. He logged three tackles, one of which was for a loss. Perhaps the most unique aspect of his game is his versatility. PFF credited him with 39 defensive snaps, 14 of which were pass-rushing snaps, 12 on run defense, and 13 in coverage.
O’Connell noted that he can change the game by just being on the field, even if he doesn’t make a play: “Obviously, we all see the intercepting a screen for a touchdown or picking off a hot throw in a [cover] zero, but it’s all of those little ones that he does. And then it’s just the communication, everybody’s on the same page. We had way more snaps with Andrew Van Ginkel on the field, where all 11 guys did their jobs and knew exactly what the call was. He provides so many layers of things to our defense that allow (Brian Flores) to be who he wants to be as a play-caller. Gink helps everybody else around him, not only himself, play at a high level.”
The coach alluded to Van Ginkel’s signature play, the pick-six. He jumped a couple of routes last year and returned the ball for six points, a rare feat for an edge defender. Various other times, he has broken up those passes and nearly snatched them for a pick.
Linebacker Eric Wilson added to the discussion, “I think that play is absolute bullshit by them, honestly. I think it was a cheap shot.”
Whether the play was dirty from a rules perspective, we’ll find out when the weekly fines will be announced later this week.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
