A Vikings Fun Fact (and Possible Conspiracy Theory)

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Finding a Vikings fun fact isn’t too difficult, even ones that come across as being a bit obscure.

What about Cam Akers finishing 19th in Comeback Player of the Year voting in 2024? While true, it’s not the issue at hand. Cutting Justin Jefferson before June 1 would have led to north of $71.7 million in dead money. Again, true, but not the Vikings fun fact we’re chasing.

Instead, bring things over to Andrew Van Ginkel.

The edge rusher with tremendous hair has four interceptions in his career. On a trio of occasions, Van Ginkel has turned the interception into points, bringing the ball across the goal line after plucking it out of the sky. Something that’s fascinating is that two of those quarterbacks who were responsible for the pick-sixes would end up becoming a teammate of Van Ginkel with the Vikings while the third lived in the rumor mill for a long time.

A Vikings Fun Fact (and Possible Conspiracy)

Earlier in the week, the idea came up in a sense when PurplePTSD considered the Paul Allen joke.

The Voice of the Vikings was talking to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah before the 2024 NFL Draft. Apparently, Allen caught Adofo-Mensah glimpsing at the interviewer’s question sheet, leading to a joke between the pair. Allen says that he’s in the role of Sam Howell while Adofo-Mensah is Andrew Van Ginkel, ready to intercept the pass and bring it back to the house.

In a fascinating and funny twist, Sam Howell is now employed by the Vikings.

NFL: Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
John Jones-Imagn Images

Think back, as well, to that hope-inducing Week 1 victory over the Giants during the 2024 season. The Vikings had a dominant day, with Van Ginkel’s pick-six functioning as a bit of an exclamation mark.

The defender’s pre-snap analysis must have been working overtime. The Giants were lining up four receivers at the bottom of the screen, opening the possibility of a bubble screen. Van Ginkel comes off the line of scrimmage before slowing down a bit, doing so to make an educated guess: Daniel Jones is going to try to get the ball out quick. Rather than wrestle with the offensive tackle, Van Ginkel gets his mitts up to take the ball away.

Just a sensationally-talented play, one that demonstrates intelligence, athleticism, and versatility.

Later on in the 2024 season, the hapless Giants decided to move on from Daniel Jones, someone who was failing to live up to expectations in the Big Apple. Minnesota, wisely, brought him aboard. In so doing, the Vikings made Andrew Van Ginkel teammates with the quarterback whom he picked off for an interception earlier in the year.

NFL: Houston Texans at Minnesota Vikings
Sep 22, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) is sacked by Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Review the details.

Mr. Van Ginkel has a trio of interceptions brought back for touchdowns. He has now seen a pair of those quarterbacks become teammates: Mr. Jones and Mr. Howell. Aaron Rodgers is the third quarterback to fall victim to Van Ginkel’s brilliance, tossing a pick-six to the outside linebacker in Week 5 of 2024. See where this is going?

Aaron Rodgers, for a long time, was living inside the Vikings rumor mill. The Vikings have publicly acknowledged the flirtations. More pertinent is that Rodgers has decided to call The Steel City home, jumping onto Mike Tomlin’s team to put in work in the AFC North.

So while that basic reality seems to squelch the possibility of Rodgers becoming a Viking, do note that there’s a mini pattern taking place. Andrew Van Ginkel turns interceptions into touchdowns. Strangely, those quarterbacks go on to become Vikings.

Pushing the fun fact into conspiracy theory territory thus involves insisting that Rodgers is bound to somehow become a Viking. It’s the Van Ginkel curse.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.


K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.

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I'm the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]purpleptsd[dot]com. I am Canadian.