Adam Thielen would have preferred a Vikings win, but his 202-yard, two touchdown performance at Green Bay was one for the books.
The Minnesota native gave his all in attempt to help the Vikings keep their playoff hopes alive, and he said a big stat day did nothing to ease the pain of the **38-25 loss**.
"Those stats and numbers don't mean anything, especially when you lose," said Thielen, who said his only focus going into the game was to do his job. "You come into a game and you have a game plan, and you just want to execute on every play."
In the second quarter, the Vikings cut a 15-point deficit to eight with a Thielen touchdown. After the Packers scored their third touchdown of the game, Sam Bradford faked a handoff to Matt Asiata on second-and-6, dropped back and let it fly from his own 22.
Thielen caught the deep ball in stride at Green Bay's 37-yard line and jogged the final distance into the end zone untouched for a career-long 71-yard touchdown that became Minnesota's longest play of the season.
"We had it game planned and knew we were going to get to it at some point. We thought it was a pretty good play," Thielen said. "Our coaches did a great job, and Sam did a great job of getting me the ball. It was nice to get on the board, and at that time of the game it was good to get some momentum in our favor."
The play proved just part of Thielen's career day.
Thielen moved the chains for Minnesota on first, second, third and fourth downs on Saturday.
On the Vikings second possession of the game, Thielen nabbed back-to-back first-down catches – one for 11 yards followed by a 17-yard play to move the Vikings down the field. Their attempts at a touchdown were thwarted, however, when Packers linebacker Clay Matthews batted down a third-down pass, and Minnesota settled for a 22-yard field goal for its first points of the game.
Thielen converted a third-and-5 from Minnesota's 30 on the next drive. A play later, he created separation from Packers cornerback LaDarius Gunter down the sideline and hauled in a 32-yard reception. The catch was one of three for Thielen on the 13-play drive that ended in Forbath's second field goal of the game.
Even as the Packers pulled away and the contest seemed out of reach, Thielen never stopped fighting.
With just over six minutes remaining, the Vikings went for it on fourth-and-4. Bradford found Thielen for an 11-yard catch that kept Minnesota's offense on the field and ultimately led to a Stefon Diggs touchdown. Less than four minutes later, Thielen again converted a fourth down, this time gaining 24 yards when the Vikings needed 12.
When asked if he was aware how close he was to Sammy White's Vikings single-game record of 210 yards against Detroit in 1976, Thielen said the thought never entered his mind.
"You're not thinking about any of that," Thielen said. "You're trying to make a play and just do anything you can to help this team win a football game."
Inside the final minute of the game, Thielen snagged an 8-yard pass over the middle for his second touchdown of the afternoon.
"One of the players said to me on the sideline … 'This guy's just a football player.' And that's what he is," Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said of Thielen. "He's a guy that goes out and makes plays. When his opportunity is there, he goes out and makes catches."
Added Zimmer: "I think the biggest thing about Adam is that he's a great competitor."
Thielen became just the fifth player in franchise history to record 200 receiving yards in a game and only the third to finish a game with 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The last time a Viking accomplished the combination White in 1976, and Thielen matched Paul Flatley, who finished with 202 yards and two scores in October of 1965.
Bradford said Thielen's big game didn't shock him. Rather, he felt the receiver's performance reflected his talent and determination week-in and week-out.
"As a quarterback, knowing that we have a guy out there for us on the outside that's going to consistently get open and consistently beat 1-on-1 coverage and produce big plays for us, that's great," Bradford said. "His effort today was unbelievable. Some of those catches he had were incredible, but really it doesn't surprise me because he's been doing it all year for us."
