EAGAN, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel produced one of the team's most impressive plays of the season Sunday in a 27-24 upset of the Detroit Lions, tackling running back Jahmyr Gibbs for a one yard loss after a crushing block he never saw coming.
Wednesday, Van Ginkel was one of several players in the Vikings' locker room to call out the block from receiver Kalif Raymond. Van Ginkel called it "a dirty play" and linebacker Eric Wilson said it was "absolute bulls---" and a "cheap shot."
On the play, Raymond lined up as an outside receiver before going in motion. At the snap, he sprinted directly toward Van Ginkel -- who was facing the other way as he was taking his first steps as a pass rusher -- and shoved him to the ground with a block to the left shoulder. Van Ginkel slid across the artificial turf at Ford Field, but when he stopped, he was at Gibbs' feet.
"Obviously getting hit on the side, I'm just going to pass rush," Van Ginkel said. "And all of a sudden I get whiplash because the guy blindsides me. I'm not going to go into too much detail about it, but I wasn't too pleased with it."
The block was not penalized and does not appear to fit the NFL's definition of either a crackback or blindside block. But Van Ginkel made clear he did not think it was safe.
"I think that it's something that the league should look at if it's something that they need to take out of the game," he said. "Because we can't be doing that. ... When you're pass rushing like that, you are not anticipating someone blindsiding from the side. I'm trying to get off the ball, get a good pass rush. I had no clue he was there. How are we supposed to protect ourselves in those cases?"
Van Ginkel was a second-team All-Pro last season but had missed five of the Vikings' previous six games entering Sunday because of a neck injury and a concussion. Coach Kevin O'Connell showed a clip of the play to the entire team during a meeting this week to emphasize Van Ginkel's resourcefulness after the block.
"He provides so many layers of things to our defense," O'Connell said. "That allows [defensive coordinator Brian Flores] to be who he wants to be as a play caller. And then Gink helps everybody else around him, not only himself, play at a high level."
