After a loss, the only thing you want to do is get back out there and get ready for the next game, an upbeat Adam Thielen told WCCO on Friday.
"We've got to just continue to get out there and show what we can do," he said.
Thielen almost made an unbelievable catch in the end zone in the last game, but just couldn't get two hands on it. "I didn't see it until the last second, but I should have made that play," he said. It would have been a catch for the ages. Still, he's in the midst of an epic season with 12 touchdown catches and comparisons to his heroes.
But he told Vikings.com he's not thinking about the record books -- or where he falls in it alongside his heroes Cris Carter, Sammy White and Randy Moss -- he's always focused on the next game.
"Not even thinking about it," Thielen said. "When I'm done playing, I'll be able to look back at that and have an opinion about it. Right now, we're just so focused on this game this week and the challenges we face week-to-week.
"Obviously, I have tons of respect for them and loved watching them play the game and the impact they made," Thielen added. "Even when everybody knew they were getting the ball, they somehow found ways to make plays and score touchdowns."
This week the Vikings face the Bears, and Thielen told WCCO they're one of the toughest teams in the NFL, and one that holds a special place in his memory. His first touchdown catch in the NFL, in December 2014, was against the Bears. "They dropped the coverage, no one guarded me, so it was pretty easy," Thielen said.
"They were lined up on the sidelines and they were yelling '19's a decoy, 19's a decoy," he recalled, laughing, and saying he just ran down the sidelines, grabbed the ball, had a touchdown and threw it into the stands for his wife.
On the personal front, what's his favorite Christmas gift of all time? No surprise there, it was a Randy Moss jersey that he wore until it fell apart. "I don't remember when I got it but it was pretty special."
