On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings were able to improve their record to 1-3 after successfully defeating Adam Thielen and the Carolina Panthers.
Minnesota won the contest by eight points and ran off the final seconds of regulation by throwing the ball away. Following the final whistle, however, Thielen was shown on the television broadcast arguing with the officials.
What was Thielen so upset about? pic.twitter.com/frhPumqlnP
— Nick Lewis 3️⃣7️⃣ (@NickLewis37) October 1, 2023
It's unclear why Thielen was so visibly upset at the end of the game (besides his team falling to 0-4 this season), but it seems like he might have thought the final play should have been flagged for intentional grounding since Kirk Cousins basically just threw the ball out of bounds.
Thielen was hoping for just one more chance to help Carolina potentially tie the game and force overtime. But even if the Panthers were able to get the ball back, they would have to score a touchdown on one play against a defense that held them to just 3.4 yards per play on Sunday.
Thielen did the best he could against his former team, hauling in seven passes for 76 yards in the loss to the Vikings. But it still wasn't enough, as Carolina couldn't overcome a Minnesota pass rush that wound up with five sacks on Sunday, including three by Vikings safety Harrison Smith.
So far this season, Thielen has accumulated 27 catches for 287 yards and two touchdowns. If keeps up with his current pace, he should end up finishing the 2023 campaign with more than 110 catches, 1,200 yards, and eight touchdowns.