Adam Thielen on playing Vikings next week: It kinda feels like a playoff game
Next Sunday’s matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Minnesota Vikings probably won’t be classified as a “revenge game” for Adam Thielen. It may, according to the 10th-year wideout, be more of a playoff game.
Thielen spoke with reporters following Carolina’s 37-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, a disappointing outing that sent them to an early 0-3 hole. When asked about the team that’s on deck—one that also happens to be his former employer of about a decade and one that also happens to be 0-3—he stressed the importance of urgency.
“Both teams are gonna have some urgency,” he said. “I think another thing is both teams are much, much better football teams than 0-3. They got a talented roster, obviously, I’ve been a part of it for a long time. And got a lot of respect for those guys over there. I know that they’re havin’ some urgency right now. There’s some serious competitors on that team, as there is on this team.
“So, I think very similar situations. There’s gotta be some urgency. And next week kinda feels like a playoff game, to be honest. Just because both teams are fightin’ and scratchin’ and crawlin’ to find a way to get that first one on the board and change the momentum.”
Thielen, a Detroit Lakes, Minn. native, played nine seasons for the Vikings. The hometown boy went on to gather 776 catches, 6,682 yards, 55 touchdowns and two Pro Bowl selections in the purple and gold.
The 33-year-old, perhaps in a timely fashion, seemed to be that guy we saw in Minnesota this afternoon. Thielen reeled in 11 receptions for a game-high 145 yards and a touchdown.
So hopefully for the Panthers, they get the same Thielen—the Vikings or the Week 3 version—next Sunday.
