The Minnesota Vikings fell to the Green Bay Packers 43-34 in the team’s first ever home opener against their divisional rival. There were several things that went wrong for the Vikings on both sides of the ball, but the team did have a bright spot Sunday afternoon.
After the team traded away Stefon Diggs this offseason a lot of people speculated that Adam Thielen would have a down year. Losing a talented receiver like Diggs will always play a toll on a team’s offense, but it seems as if some people have forgotten how good Thielen is at his craft.
Thielen finished the day with six catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Despite a disappointing loss, Kirk Cousins was able to find his go-to target against arguably the best cornerback in the NFC North in Jaire Alexander
The Vikings star receiver was able to find separation against Green Bay and Cousins capitalized by throwing two beautiful deep passes.
Although the game started out slow, Thielen was the only receiver that Cousins threw to early on. It’s clear that Cousins is going to rely heavily on Thielen, but as the year goes on more players will have to be utilized in the passing game.
Bisi Johnson and Justin Jefferson were the only other two Vikings’ receivers to catch passes on Sunday, while the tight ends only combined for three catches.
It’s great knowing that the Vikings still have a receiver playing at a high level, but the ball is going to have to get spread around more frequently to take some of the attention off Thielen in upcoming weeks.