How Vikings edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel read the Giants offense for a critical pick-six

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – There was a fortune-telling defender in the Vikings ranks this summer.

Safety Bobby McCain, a 31-year-old veteran of Brian Flores’ defenses going back to the Miami Dolphins, only joined the team on July 29. But from then on, the practice squad defender said he’s been preaching the playmaking ability of his former Dolphins teammate: edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel.

Van Ginkel starred for a dominant Vikings defense in Sunday’s 28-6 victory at MetLife Stadium. He helped put the clamps on a hapless Giants offense with a sack, another hit on Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, and an interception returned for a 10-yard touchdown.

“What’s crazy is, I was telling these boys, ‘Man, Gink is going to score a touchdown this year — maybe two,’ ” McCain told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “I told them I’d seen it every year I played with Gink. For him to come out the first game, just to see his growth from when he was a rookie to now is incredible.”

Van Ginkel’s touchdown, his fourth in six NFL seasons, started with his brain.

Backed up to his own 17-yard line, Giants quarterback Daniel Jones stared down seven Vikings defenders crowding the line of scrimmage. Van Ginkel lurked off the right tackle’s side.

On his side, Van Ginkel saw a Giants receiver motion behind a trio of blockers. He figured a screen was coming. So when he rushed upfield, he was prepared to leap for a quick throw, which he picked off and ran 10 yards for a touchdown and 28-6 lead in the third quarter.

“Most guys will just rush the quarterback,” safety Harrison Smith said. “But he knew the ball was probably coming out, and he was just being an athlete. That pretty much iced the game.”

If you blinked and missed it, don’t blame yourself.

Van Ginkel’s interception happened 1.16 seconds after the snap, according NFL Next Gen Stats. That was the fastest interception in the NFL since last December, when Van Ginkel did the same thing to then-Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell. That pick took 1.26 seconds.

“I had a similar play last year,” Van Ginkel said. “[Then-Dolphins coordinator Vic] Fangio back then kind of pointed something out to me, it’s ingrained in my head. This defense, we show so much pressure, we put a lot of pressure and anxiety on the quarterbacks and O-line. If we can get them to communicate and show their hand, it allows you to play faster and anticipate things.”

The success was welcomed in a trying year for Van Ginkel, who signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Vikings in March. Not only did he spend much of his offseason rehabbing a foot injury he suffered in last year’s season finale with the Dolphins, but he was among the many Rock Valley, Iowa, residents whose family home suffered significant flood damage in June.

“It’s a lot of hard work paying off,” Van Ginkel said. “It’s a grind. It’s tough being injured like that, coming in and being in the facility all summer, not getting much of a break. Then I have to go home and deal with the floods. It’s just one thing after another. I’m grateful, thankful.”

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said Van Ginkel is a “major part” of the defensive communication.

“It’s just the feel, the presence, the confidence,” O’Connell said. “We can overload him so that we can let other people play fast around him. And then just the instincts. He just does not get enough credit for just the problem he is, diagnosing plays.”

O’Connell also recalled Van Ginkel’s touchdown back in March when the team signed him. The coach told the team’s new defender that he expected Van Ginkel to find the end zone this season.

“I did not know it was going to be the first game,” O’Connell said, “which was pretty spectacular.”