Vikings to Face Eagles Without Star LB Andrew Van Ginkel
The Minnesota Vikings have been in an odd spot during the buildup to their Week 7 clash with the Philadelphia Eagles. After returning from their bye week in Week 6, the team has spent the past couple of days figuring out who would start under center for them. On Friday, it was announced that J.J. McCarthy still isn’t healthy as he works his way back from an ankle injury, meaning Carson Wentz will draw the start against his former team.
That wasn’t the only clarity the Vikings got in their injury department on Friday, though. Throughout the week, star linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel has been attempting to work his way back from a neck injury he suffered back in Week 3. However, the team received a tough update on his Week 7 status that will force its defense to adapt.
Andrew Van Ginkel Ruled Out for Vikings Week 7 Action
After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Miami Dolphins, Van Ginkel signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Vikings in free agency. He promptly put together the best season of his career, racking up 79 tackles, 11.5 sacks, two interceptions (both of which he returned for touchdowns), six pass deflections, and one fumble forced. As a result, Van Ginkel earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro Second Team honors for the first time in his career.
Prior to the 2025 campaign, Van Ginkel signed a one-year, $23 million contract extension with Minnesota, ensuring that his contract situation won’t be an issue throughout the year. While Van Ginkel already has seven tackles, two sacks, and two pass deflections this season, he’s only managed to suit up in two games thanks to injury issues.
Van Ginkel didn’t suit up for either of the Vikings’ European contests in Weeks 4 and 5, with the hope being that some time off in Week 6 would allow him to return for the team’s contest with the Eagles. That hasn’t ended up not being the case, though, as the team ruled out Van Ginkel Friday afternoon.
Vikings Must Find Way to Win Without Andrew Van Ginkel
The Vikings have largely managed to get by without Van Ginkel this season, as they have quite a bit of depth on defense. As he showed last season, though, he has the ability to be one of the most disruptive defensive players in the game when he’s playing at his best. With the season still being early, though, Minnesota doesn’t want to rush one of its stars back onto the field before he’s truly ready to return.
With Van Ginkel out, that likely means that Dallas Turner will earn another start filling in for him on defense. Turner has enjoyed a strong start to the season, as his 20 tackles through five games already match the total he had in 2024 as a rookie. Going against a talented Eagles offense, though, Turner is going to have to step up if the Vikings want to come out on top. Kickoff for this very important game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
Steelers Facing Criticism for Odd Decision in Bengals Loss
There really wasn’t a single great individual performance from the Pittsburgh Steelers defense against the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday. But in edge rusher Nick Herbig’s case, it may have been due to the lack of opportunity.
Herbig played 29 defensive snaps for the Steelers versus their division rival in Week 7. That was 38% of the team’s snaps on defense in the matchup.
Steelers Depot’s Joe Clark argued that was far too low.
“I can understand some of the reasoning. It’s a short week. Herbig had played a lot on Sunday, and the team might not want to wear him down too early,” Clark wrote. “The Steelers got off to a bad start against the run, and Alex Highsmith has been a better run defender. But I just don’t really get the justification for having him player 26 fewer snaps than Highsmith.
“For one, Highsmith is coming off an ankle injury, which he returned from in Week 6. Highsmith probably could’ve used the rest more than the younger and healthier Herbig, and Herbig has just been so dynamic as a pass rusher this year that he needs to be playing more.”
Herbig has 4.5 sacks, six tackles for loss and 13 quarterback hits this season. He’s leads the Steelers in all three categories, and unlike All-Pros defenders T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward, Herbig missed a game in September.
Steelers Pass Rush Struggles Against Bengals
The Steelers recorded two sacks versus Cincinnati in Week 7. However, quarterback Joe Flacco was far too comfortable for most of the night and tore apart the Pittsburgh secondary.
Flacco delivered a lot of short, quick passes. But the Steelers were also unable to generate much pressure when they had opportunities.
Watt, Heyward and Alex Highsmith all played at least 70% of the team’s defensive snaps in the contest. Yet, they combined for just one sack and two quarterback hits.
Highsmith recorded three tackles and no other statistics.
In limited playing time, Herbig posted two tackles and one quarterback hit.
The Steelers appeared to try a lot of different coverages to try and slow down the Bengals elite receivers Thursday. But the team made few adjustments to their defensive front during the game. That resulted in Herbig not getting a lot of playing time.
That was surprising given that he came into the game with a sack in three straight contests. Just four days prior, Herbig had two sacks and four quarterback hits in Week 6.
How Do Steelers Get Nick Herbig More Playing Time?
As head coach Mike Tomlin has said, needing to find more playing time for Herbig is a “good problem to have.” However, it’s still a problem nonetheless.
It’s an issue that Clark argued the Steelers are still trying to figure out.
“The Steelers had Herbig on the field with Highsmith and Watt in their Bronco package four times on Thursday, per Alex Kozora’s charting,” Clark wrote. “Two of those plays led to incompletions, while two of them led to gains of 10+ yards through the air.
“But the Steelers went away from it for a large part of the game, and it’s something I’d like to see them experiment with more.”
If the Steelers aren’t going to deploy the three edge rushers together, then the team will have to take away playing time from someone else to get Herbig on the field.
That’s not ideal because Watt and Highsmith are elite edge rushers. But Herbig has arguably been Pittsburgh’s most impactful defender through seven weeks. He needs to be on the field, especially if Watt and Highsmith go silent.
The Steelers should ride the hot hand at every defensive position. No one is playing better for Pittsburgh’s defense than Herbig this season.
