Vikings stars explain how coach's special pregame message led to snapping 4-game losing streak

The 2025 play isn't what the Minnesota Vikings had successful caput aft going 14-3 past year. 

Entering Sunday, the Vikings had mislaid 4 consecutive games, falling to 4-8 with playoff hopes precise debased heading into a contention against the Washington Commanders. But erstwhile the timepiece deed zero astatine U.S. Bank Stadium, the scoreboard work 31-0 successful favour of the location team. 

The Vikings looked similar their ascendant selves from a play ago, and a pregame connection from caput manager Kevin O'Connell could beryllium a main crushed why. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) celebrates aft sacking Seattle Seahawks backmost Sam Darnold (14) successful the 2nd 4th connected Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025 astatine Lumen Field successful Seattle. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Defensive skipper Harrison Smith was choked up successful the Vikings' locker country aft snapping their four-game triumph streak, wherever helium told FOX 9 KMSP that O'Connell wanted his squad to transmission their precocious schoolhouse selves. It's a applicable connection because, erstwhile playoff chances are slim toward the extremity of a season, players volition sometimes easiness disconnected the state pedal. 

O'Connell reminded his players of those days erstwhile the NFL was lone a dream, and Smith's chap defenders Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel felt it was cleanable heading into their latest crippled astatine home. 

"As soon arsenic KO said it, I whispered nether my breath, ‘Go get it,'" Metellus told Fox News Digital aft helium and Van Ginkel helped Raising Cane’s donate 100 children’s bikes to the Boys & Girls Club of The Twin Cities successful Minneapolis connected Monday. "That’s what I would archer myself close present if my 16-year-old aforesaid was talking to maine close now. ‘Go get it. Leave it each connected the enactment and immoderate happens, happens.’ 

COMMANDERS' JAYDEN DANIELS TAKES HIT AFTER INTERCEPTION, RE-INJURES SHOULDER

"That’s however I’ve been my full vocation to this point, and KO brought maine backmost to that moment. That was truly special."

For Metellus, O'Connell's connection brought backmost those precocious schoolhouse days erstwhile helium wasn't being arsenic heavy recruited arsenic teammates astatine Charles W. Flanagan High School successful Pembroke Pines, Florida. He would yet get the accidental to play for the Michigan Wolverines, but Metellus went into each Friday nighttime crippled saying the aforesaid happening to himself. 

Joshua Metellus of the Minnesota Vikings stands connected the tract anterior to an NFL shot crippled against the Los Angeles Chargers astatine SoFi Stadium connected Oct. 23, 2025 successful Inglewood, California. (Brooke Sutton/Getty Images)

Go get it. 

"I think, for maine especially, proceeding that message, I’ve had a antithetic way to occurrence than a batch of guys person had. I was conscionable reasoning successful precocious school, 16 years aged and nary offers and playing with a clump of guys who were truly good, highly recruited. Always going into it and telling myself connected a Friday night, ‘Just got get it. Whatever you privation to do, conscionable spell get it,'" Metellus explained. "I knew everything I wanted was retired successful beforehand of me. I’ve heard the stories, I’ve seen guys’ occurrence stories, and I conscionable applied myself and went retired and got it. I ever knew I would beryllium wherever I wanted to be."

When Van Ginkel heard the message, helium flashed backmost to his precocious schoolhouse days astatine Rock Valley Community successful Iowa. 

"It’s immense conscionable due to the fact that we’ve been playing this game, a batch of america since simple and mediate school. Back successful those days, you would imagination astir going connected to play assemblage football, going connected to play successful the NFL," helium said. "To play against [Commanders star] Jayden Daniels, who is an elite quarterback, stepping backmost connected that tract and being successful the NFL is simply a large woody and thing we shouldn’t instrumentality lightly due to the fact that it could beryllium taken distant successful the blink of an eye. Always beryllium retired determination with excitement and joy, and conscionable retrieve your younger aforesaid would dice to bash this."

Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to watercourse the full FOX Nation library, positive unrecorded FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment astatine our lowest terms of the year. The connection ends connected Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)

Van Ginkel played a captious relation successful the victory, intercepting Daniels aft perfectly speechmaking a surface walk connected 4th down successful Vikings' territory. 

At 5-8, the Vikings person precise small anticipation inactive to scope the playoffs, but they're inactive surviving the dream. That's what O'Connell wanted to punctual his squad about, and that's what Smith was affectional about. 

It's harmless to accidental the Vikings volition decorativeness these remaining 4 games playing similar it's their past each week because, arsenic these 2 some said, the NFL is ne'er promised. 

Make the champion of the clip you person playing the crippled you love. 

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

Metellus and Van Ginkel enjoyed impacting immoderate of the children successful their Minneapolis community, arsenic they partnered with Raising Cane’s for its sixth yearly motorcycle giveaway.

The acquisition of immoderate vacation cheers, and caller wheels for these children to thrust astir on, is bigger than past twelvemonth arsenic Raising Cane’s is giving distant much than 4,000 bikes nationwide compared to past year’s 2,500.

Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel grin with kid during Raising Cane's vacation motorcycle giveaway successful Minneapolis connected Dec. 8, 2026.  (Raising Cane's)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"The lawsuit was awesome," Van Ginkel said. "You spot the smiles connected the kids’ faces, and immoderate mode that we tin bring joyousness and excitement this vacation play and springiness backmost to the Boys & Girls Club, it’s peculiar to me. It means a batch and we convey Raising Cane’s for donating these 100 bikes, and they said they donate 4,000 crossed America. So, it means a batch and I’m excited to beryllium a portion of it."

Metellus added: "I deliberation it’s large for Raising Cane’s to conscionable bless these kids with the accidental to person a motorcycle and to cognize that the assemblage cares astir them. There’s radical that attraction astir furthering their improvement successful this world. To beryllium a portion of this is ever special. The mode I was brought up, I ever admit these things, particularly astir the vacation season."

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports sum connected X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.