There are good teams, there are bad teams. Then there’s 50 feet of crap, and then there’s the Minnesota Vikings.
Maybe that’s a bit of an overreaction. Things haven’t been all bad this season for Minnesota, but the last few weeks have pushed the Vikings to the bottom of the division and turned them into one of the most underperforming teams in the league. Over the last two games, Minnesota’s defense has allowed an average of 33 points and nearly 400 yards per game. The top-five unit from a year ago is long gone. Heck, the Los Angeles Chargers didn’t even punt once in their drubbing of the Vikings on Thursday Night Football.
As bad as things are right now, though, there is still one man who might be able to swoop in and rescue this crumbling defense … but there’s a catch.
In just 69 snaps this year, Andrew Van Ginkel has racked up seven tackles, two passes defended, two sacks, and two tackles for loss. So it’s no surprise that two of Minnesota’s three wins on the season are games that he appeared in. The Vikings defense has also allowed four 100-yard rushers already this year, and, go figure, two of the three games where they didn’t were the two games that Van Ginkel appeared in.
So could you say Minnesota’s defense lives and dies by Andrew Van Ginkel?
Kinda, yeah.
Sure, he’s just one player on a defense of 11. And there’s more than one problem that needs fixing. But people tend to forget that Van Ginkel was an All-Pro last season. Just because he’s not often mentioned in the same breath as T.J. Watt or Micah Parsons doesn’t mean he’s not one of the best defensive players in the league.
It’s a small sample size so far this season, but when Van Ginkel has been on the field, great things have been happening for the defense. Receivers have a grand total of negative two yards this year with Van Ginkel as the defender. His presence looms large on the outside, where his famous “Gink-Six” is always on the back of quarterbacks’ minds.
However, Van Ginkel’s neck injury has kept him off the field since week three, leaving his future shrouded in mystery. Kevin O’Connell provided a very Kevin O’Connell-esque update on Van Ginkel ahead of Detroit Lions week.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that we’ve got a little more time this week, and how Gink can possibly turn over,” said O’Connell. “When he’s available, and we can get him back out there, he’s one of those guys that is a critical part of how we wanna play defense.”
When pressed for a specific timeline, O’Connell couldn’t get into specifics.
“I don’t really have an update right now, on that, for next week, in any kind of concrete way. But my hope is we get to see Gink sooner rather than later, for sure.”
Getting Gink back for the Lions and the No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL would be ideal, but it’s hard to gauge if he’s even close. If he can’t go, it leaves Dallas Turner, the polarizing second-year man, to once man the edge again. Turner has been fine in Van Ginkel’s absence, but that’s the problem.
Heading into the season, Brian Flores knew the defensive front was going to need to be elite and wreak havoc to keep pressure off of the unproven secondary. That hasn’t happened, and, despite playing just 16% of the total possible defensive snaps, Van Ginkel is still second on the team in sacks.
Without the pressure up front, the secondary continues to get picked apart. And not only are the Vikings missing his pass-rush skills, they’re also missing his coverage ability.
Not only does he offer elite pass-rushing ability, but Van Ginkel is one of the few edge rushers in the NFL who can also drop into coverage and be just as dominant. He had over 200 coverage snaps in 2024, much more than any other edge in the league, and notched two pick-sixes and eight passes defended. Still, with how long this neck injury has persisted, and the fact that he’s now in his age-30 season, it’s fair to question if Van Ginkel truly can come back this year and save Minnesota’s season.
While his status leading up to Sunday and beyond is more nebulous than ever, there’s no question Minnesota’s defense is still better with Gink on the field. His unique two-way ability to rush the passer and drop into coverage has been greatly missed. Although Turner hasn’t been bad, there’s an obvious drop-off, and one that the Vikings couldn’t afford to lose. Injuries have plagued them all season, but Van Ginkel’s may be the one they just simply can’t overcome.
