Adam Thielen Puts Together Historic Performance

Lost in the 38-25 pounding that the Minnesota Vikings took at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Satruday afternoon was an incredible performance from a guy who has moved well beyond being a feel-good story into being a legitimately outstanding NFL wide receiver.

Adam Thielen was the primary offensive weapon for Minnesota against the Packers, as he put up a performance that is truly rare in Minnesota Vikings’ history. He reeled in 12 receptions for 202 yards and two scores, including a huge 71-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

That performance was just the fifth 200-yard receiving performance in the history of the Minnesota Vikings, and the third that saw a Vikings receiver have 200 yards in receptions and two touchdowns. Here is a list of the top five receiving performances in Vikings’ history:

• 210 yards - Sammy White, 7 November 1976 against Detroit (seven receptions, two touchdowns)
• 204 yards - Randy Moss, 14 November 1999 against Chicago (12 receptions, zero touchdowns)
• 202 yards - Adam Thielen, 24 December 2016 against Green Bay (12 receptions, two touchdowns)
• 202 yards - Paul Flatley, 24 October 1965 against San Francisco (seven receptions, two touchdowns)
• 201 yards - Sidney Rice, 15 November 2009 against Detroit (seven receptions, zero touchdowns)

This is the second top-ten receiving performance in Vikings’ history that has been put up this season. Stefon Diggs put up what is (now) the ninth-highest receiving total in Vikings history with his nine-catch, 182-yard, two-touchdown performance against Green Bay back in Week 2.

With Thielen’s performance today, he now leads the Vikings in receiving with 960 receiving yards. Diggs is now second on the team with 903 after being limited to 29 yards on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings have not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Rice’s 2009 season, and now there’s a chance that they might have two depending on how they look next Sunday against Chicago at home.

Who would have thought that the guy with the inside track to that distinction, however, would be the guy that grew up in Detroit Lakes, played his college ball at Minnesota State University in Mankato, and fought his way up from the Vikings’ practice squad a few years ago to be where he is now?

Thielen’s 200-yard, two touchdown performance means that he’s done something in a Vikings’ uniform that Randy Moss never did, something that Cris Carter never did, something that Anthony Carter ever did, something that Sidney Rice never did, something that Percy Harvin never did. . .you get the idea. The Vikings have had a lot of great wide receivers in their history, and Adam Thielen has done something that truly sets him apart.

Congratulations to Adam Thielen on his performance today, even if it did come in a losing effort.