Adam Thielen hears you, Minnesota Vikings fans.
The Minnesota native has touted all season his desire to take the franchise to higher grounds. Yet, the 3-5 Vikings have not realized their potential and are tired of answering why the team has not lived up to their billing.
“I think the same questions, concerns that people watching the games have are the same concerns every single person in this building has,” Thielen said in a Nov. 8 press conference following a 34-31 overtime loss to the Baltimore Ravens where the Vikings gave up a pair of 14-point leads.
Thielen admitted he’s run out of answers as weekly press conferences have become redundant.
“I know it’s a broken record every week, but we’re in this situation now and we gotta find a way out,” he said. “We know that we can do it. We know we have the guys. We know we have the quarterback. We know our coaches are busting their tails to do whatever it takes, but it’s kinda getting old to talk about that,” Thielen added.
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‘I Know Fans Are Done With Us’
An inability to close games has remained the weekly talking point for the Vikings, whose five losses this season have been settled by an average margin of just 3.6 points.
The wins haven’t felt any more secure, with the Vikings allowing the Detriot Lions and Carolina Panthers to come back within a score in the final two minutes of both victories before the bye week.
“I know the fans are done with us coming in here every single week and saying we have the guys we just have to go and execute,” Thielen said. “I don’t really know what to say cause that’s the same thing each week.”
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Thielen Optimistic Toward Future
Thielen did assure the fan base that the morale in the building has not shifted despite a grueling and gut-wrenching start to the season.
“There’s a lot of doom and gloom, but we have a lot of guys who are doing whatever it takes, I promise you that. We’re doing the little things. We are being positive. We are being good teammates. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to find a way to get over what’s happened at the start of the season and find a way to flip the script and the great thing is we have an opportunity to do that,” Thielen said. “We have a great opportunity to win some ball games and put us in a position to go to the playoffs and that’s all you can ask for.”
Thielen’s assessment of the rest of the season isn’t blindly optimistic either. Despite the defeated feeling of numerous last-second losses, the standings state the facts.
Currently, the Vikings are two spots out of the NFC playoff picture behind the Carolina Panthers (4-5) and the No. 7 seed Atlanta Falcons (4-4). The sixth-seeded New Orleans Saints are teetering at .500 as well with a 5-3 record.
While the Green Bay Packers hold a dominant three-game lead in the NFC North standings, the divisional stretch will have a significant say if the Vikings compete for a wild card spot at the end of the season.
But, as many of the team’s leaders have touted every week, it starts with the game ahead.
The Vikings face the Los Angeles Chargers, who have played in even more close games since the 2020 season as the Vikings.
Most Games Decided by 7 or Fewer Points Since Start of 2020:
1. Los Angeles Chargers (17)
2. Minnesota Vikings (16)
think Sunday’s game will go down to the wire?
“At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. We want to win ball games. We want to make this city this state proud of winning games. We want to make them proud by the way we play, the way we compete and win,” Thielen said. “We get another opportunity to prove it on Sunday. I’m excited about that opportunity.”
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Adam Thielen Answers for Vikings’ Struggles: ‘I Know Fans Are Done With Us’