MINNEAPOLIS — Adam Thielen grew up a rabid Vikings fan in Detroit Lakes, 200 miles northwest of U.S. Bank Stadium's location.
He's quite familiar with the Border Battle.
But after another big day against Minnesota's biggest rival, the Vikings wide receiver insisted he doesn't get extra motivated for games against the Packers.
"For me, it's just football," Thielen said after a 23-10 Vikings win. "Yeah, it's obviously the Green Bay Packers and it's a big divisional rivalry, but that's what it is to everybody in this locker room.
"Everyone knows how big this game is," Thielen added. "So I don't think it's any different for me than Kyle Rudolph or Everson Griffen. It's all the same, we know it's a big game."
The Minnesota native has certainly become a thorn in the side of the Packers.
Thielen led the Vikings with nine catches for 97 yards on Sunday, grabbing four more receptions and 48 more yards and his next-closest teammate.
In his past two games against Green Bay, Thielen has 21 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
Thielen now leads Minnesota with 39 catches for 482 yards on the season. He has the eighth-most receiving yards of any Vikings player after six games in franchise history.
"Adam is a great receiver," said Vikings quarterback Case Keenum. "If you just get it in the general area, he tends to make a play.
"That kind of makes me look to gravitate toward him more," Keenum added.
Thielen's performance was crucial because Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs was out with a groin injury. Diggs has 23 catches for 395 yards and a team-high four touchdowns in 2017.
But Thielen stepped up and delivered. Five of Thielen's nine grabs moved the chains.
"I got a lot of targets," said Thielen, who was targeted a team-high 13 times. "There were definitely some plays left out there that I felt like I could have done better on.
"But shoot, we got the win," Thielen added.
Thielen's performance helped the Vikings produce a balanced offensive attack.
Minnesota racked up 351 yards of total offense, including 239 in the air and 112 on the ground.
Thielen said the Vikings got into a rhythm as the game went along.
"That's something we talk about a lot. Offensively, you have to make plays and extend drives to make those big plays. Anytime we can get a first down, that's going to be huge for us in that drive."
Thielen helped the Vikings move to 4-2 on the season and into first place in the NFC North.
The Vikings now get a break from NFC North play after getting back-to-back wins at Chicago and against Green Bay. Minnesota will host Baltimore at noon (CT) Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
"The biggest thing about it is that it's two divisional wins against two teams that have been playing good football," Thielen said. "For us, we're going to take it one game at a time and keep getting better.
"That's the best thing about that game is that we won, but there's also plenty to clean up," Thielen added. "It's a best-case scenario."
