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PHILADELPHIA – Adam Thielen took another important career step in the fifth week, becoming the first Super Bowl player to win 100 yards or more in each of his team's first five games. In a 23-21 victory over the Eagles, Thielen caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, including a 68-yard quarterback from Kirk Cousins who overturned the Vikings' position on the pitch at a crucial point in the game. third quarter.
Yet this performance is derisory compared to his team on the most important game of the game.
When the Eagles attempted to recover the ball after conceding a 75-yard touchdown with a late touchdown to allow Philadelphia to return to two, it was Thielen who found himself at the bottom of the pile of dogs after recovering Jake Elliott's free kick attempt, allowing Minnesota to go into victory formation the next game.
"What's good is that our coaches did a phenomenal job putting us in good positions, we knew all week that he was coming to my side and we saw a lot of videos." said Thielen. "He's a very good kicker and he kicked phenomenally – it was one of the most nasty hits I've ever seen." not easy, but we managed. "
This type of game testifies to the impact of Thielen on the Vikings. Given his offensive workload, the Pro Bowl receiver is not often part of special teams during games but remains present at meetings that do not require his presence. Special Team Coordinator Mike Priefer congratulated Thielen this week for his time spent on assignments in case he needed them and credited the wide receiver as the team's best backup player.
Thus, when the Vikings needed to withdraw two critical teams at the end of the fourth quarter (Thielen also opened the scoring on the 11-yard line after the Vikings' defense stopped the Eagles on the 45-yard line Minnesota with 9:17 to play) they knew where to turn.
"I think his contract has some heart," said coach Mike Zimmer. "Number one, he has the biggest heart ever, number two, he always talks about how he can improve, he comes to me during the week and says," I do it and I have to just run, or I need to do that, and I said, I'll remind you, and even along that he caught, he said, "Dude, I'm faster than that, I should have scored for it. " He's the kind of guy he is. This is a great competitor. "
This is not the first time Minnesota has called on Thielen for special teams. In the NFC Wild Card game against Green Bay Packers in January 2016, the Vikings made a false ball with Thielen, who took the ball 41 yards to establish an investment.
Thielen is currently leading the NFL with 589 receiving yards in the first five weeks of the season. The chemistry that Thielen built with Cousins quickly pays dividends for the Vikings, as does the production that Minnesota also receives from Stefon Diggs.
Cousins scored 17 of 21 attempts for 207 yards and a touchdown when he targeted Thielen and Diggs against the Eagles, bringing his completion percentage to 70% on the passes his duo captured for 955 yards. , six touchdowns and no interception.
Thielen and Diggs combined for 108 yards after Sunday's capture, their second-highest total as teammates, according to ESPN Stats and Information.
Thielen's competition shots brought him from an unseeded star of Division II to one of the League's top receivers. That's an advantage that Cousins noticed shortly after becoming a teammate with the 28-year-old receiver and that bears witness to the constant impact he's had for the Vikings.
"He likes competition," Cousins said of Thielen. "He did not want to take a day off in the OTAs or in the training camps." When he does not participate in the offense, he is frustrated because he wants to help out. As a competitor, he wants me to learn more and more about my teammates every week, but you've certainly found it in him since the first day of training. "
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