Don’t cheat and scroll to the bottom, because I promise all 14 are worth a read and rewatch:
14. Van Ginkel’s first impression
Daniel Jones stood tall in an empty shotgun set with rookie Malik Nabers split to the boundary on his left, and Wan’Dale Robinson aligned far outside of a three-receiver bunch to his right. Before the snap, Jones turned his head, held up his hand and wiggled his fingers to signal Robinson into motion, bringing him behind the bunch. The Vikings defense was visibly outnumbered, with three Giants ready to perimeter block Joshua Metellus (walked down on the point man), Bynum (7 yards off the ball and a shade inside of Giants TE Theo Johnson, the player closest to New York right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor) and Byron Murphy, Jr., who cautiously shadowed Robinson on his motion, priming to bail into coverage. In theory, the bunch formation accounted for Minnesota’s defensive backs and could block them 1-on-1 once Jones flipped his hips and zipped a quick screen to Robinson – little did the Giants know the Vikings had them precisely where they wanted. As the ball was hiked, Ivan Pace, Jr. zoomed out of an A gap-blitz look and beelined underneath the bunch at Jones’ target. Now, the numbers were even, yet the Vikings technically had an advantage … or rather, a secret weapon: Van Ginkel. Crouched in a two-point stance several yards outside of Eluemunor, Van Ginkel timed the cadence, took three hard steps upfield, sniffed out the screen and went airborne, stealing Jones’ throw with the savviness of an All-Pro wide receiver.
Gink’ gracefully executed a one-foot landing at the Giants 10, burst into a trot with his blond mane pouring out the back of his Purple helmet and raised his arms to upper-torso height with both palms at the sky as if to ask “Are you not entertained?” The TD rounded out his rock-solid debut for the Vikings.