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The 2025 season is not what the Minnesota Vikings had in mind after going 14-3 last year.
Entering Sunday, the Vikings had lost four straight games and fell to 4-8 with very low playoff hopes heading into a contest against the Washington Commanders. But when the clock struck zero at US Bank Stadium, the scoreboard read 31-0 in favor of the home team.
The Vikings looked like their dominant selves from a season ago, and a message from head coach Kevin O’Connell before the game could be a major reason for that.
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Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) celebrates after sacking Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) in the second quarter, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025, at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Defensive captain Harrison Smith choked up in the Vikings locker room after snapping their four-game winning streak, telling FOX 9 KMSP that O’Connell wanted his team to channel their high school selves. It’s a relevant message because when the playoff chances are slim toward the end of a season, players sometimes want to ease off the gas pedal.
O’Connell reminded his players of the days when the NFL was just a dream, and Smith defensive backs Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel felt it was perfect heading into their latest game at home.
“As soon as KO said that, I whispered under my breath, ‘Get it,'” Metellus told Pakinomist Digital after he and Van Ginkel helped Raising Cane’s donate 100 kids’ bikes to the Boys & Girls Club of The Twin Cities in Minneapolis on Monday. “That’s what I would say to myself right now if my 16-year-old self was talking to me right now. ‘Go get it. Lay it all on the line and whatever happens, happens.’
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“That’s how I’ve been my whole career to this point, and the KO brought me back to that moment. It was really special.”
For Metellus, O’Connell’s message brought back those high school days when he wasn’t as heavily recruited as teammates at Charles W. Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida. He would eventually get the chance to play for the Michigan Wolverines, but Metellus went into every Friday night saying the same thing to himself.
Joshua Metellus of the Minnesota Vikings stands on the field prior to an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium on October 23, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)
Get it.
“I think especially for me when I heard that message, I’ve had a different path to success than a lot of guys have had. I just thought about high school, 16 years old and no offers and playing with a bunch of guys who were really good, highly recruited. I always go into it and say to myself on a Friday night, ‘Just got it. Whatever you want to do,’ I just explained. “I knew that everything, whatever I wanted was out in front of me. I’ve heard the stories, I’ve seen guys’ success stories, and I just applied myself and went out and got it. I always knew I wanted to be where I wanted to be.”
When Van Ginkel heard the message, he flashed back to his high school days at Rock Valley Community in Iowa.
“It’s huge, just because we’ve been playing this game, a lot of us since elementary school and middle school. Back then, the dream was to go on to play college football and go on to play in the NFL,” he said. “To play against [Commanders star] Jayden Daniels, who is an elite quarterback, stepping back on that field and being in the NFL is a big deal and something we shouldn’t take lightly because it could be taken away in an instant. Always be out there with excitement and joy and just remember that your younger self would die to do this.”
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Van Ginkel was instrumental in the win when he intercepted Daniels after perfectly reading a screen pass on fourth down in Vikings territory.
At 5-8, the Vikings have very little hope of making the playoffs, but they are still living the dream. That’s what O’Connell wanted to remind his team, and that’s what Smith was emotional about.
It’s safe to say the Vikings will finish the remaining four games playing like it’s their last every week because, as these two both said, the NFL is never promised.
Make the most of the time you have playing the game you love.
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
Metellus and Van Ginkel enjoyed impacting some of the kids in their Minneapolis community when they teamed up with Raising Cane’s for their sixth annual bike giveaway.
The gift of some Christmas cheer and new wheels for these kids to ride around on is bigger than last year as Raising Cane’s is giving away more than 4,000 bikes nationwide compared to last year’s 2,500.
Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel smile with a child during the Raising Canes holiday bike giveaway in Minneapolis on Dec. 8, 2026. (Repeal of Cane’s)
“The event was great,” Van Ginkel said. “You see the smiles on the kids’ faces, and any way we can bring joy and excitement this holiday season and give back to the Boys & Girls Club, that’s special to me. It means a lot, and we thank Raising Cane’s for donating these 100 bikes, and they said they’re donating 4,000 across America. So it means a lot that I’m a part of that, and I’m a part of that.”
Metellus added, “I think it’s great for Raising Cane’s to just bless these kids with the opportunity to receive a bike and to know that the community cares about them. There are people who care about promoting their development in this world. To be a part of this is always special. The way I was raised, I always appreciate these things, especially around the holiday season.”
