Vikings Offensive MVP: Week 14 vs. the Carolina Panthers

It was not his best performance of the season, but Adam Thielen still came up big for the Minnesota Vikings during their loss on Sunday.

After finishing with just four catches for 51 yards last week against the Atlanta Falcons, it was hard to imagine Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen not being able to bounce back with a better performance in the team’s Week 14 matchup with the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The day ended up resulting in the Vikings’ first loss since Week 4, but with the help of Thielen, Minnesota still could have easily come out with a win on Sunday. Minnesota’s receiver ended his game against the Panthers with six catches for 105 yards and one touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings

During the first half on Sunday, Thielen struggled to get much going despite being targeted eight times. The Vikings’ pass-catcher went into the locker room after two quarters with just three catches for 31 yards. He had a chance to haul in a touchdown pass towards the end of the second quarter, but the throw from Minnesota quarterback Case Keenum bounced off of Thielen’s chest and he was unable to come up with the catch.

The second half began with the Vikings receiver still having trouble producing against the Carolina secondary. But on Minnesota’s third to last offensive drive of the game, the Adam Thielen that the team had become used to in 2017 stepped up to the plate once again.

With under six minutes left in the game and the Vikings trailing 24-13 to the Panthers, Thielen caught a pass around the Carolina 35-yard line, broke two tackles and took it all the way into the end zone for the score. Thanks to the big play by their receiver, Minnesota was right back in the game and cut the Panthers’ lead to just three points.

Next: Vikings' ups and downs from Week 14 loss

Despite Thielen and the rest of his teammates’ efforts, the Vikings were unable to to defeat Carolina on Sunday and Minnesota suffered their third loss of the season. On a day in which a lot did not go right for the Vikings, Minnesota’s talented receiver still did his best to keep his team in contention for a win.