EAGAN Discount Dru Samia Jersey , Minn. — Minnesota Vikings, Adam Thielen stretched out his body and dived to try to catch an off-target pass.More Vikings coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Rookie Bradbury is central figure to Vikings’ overhauled offensive lineVikings depth at cornerback being tested, Hughes still not clearedPlayers to watch at Minnesota Vikings 2019 training campTop Tweets: Vikings WR Diggs makes push for All-NFL Style TeamThielen immediately questioned aloud the wisdom of his decision to risk pain when ultimately the completion didn’t matter. Thielen, though, couldn’t resist. There’s hardly a ball in the air he doesn’t believe he can grab, and this is anything but blind faith.Through six games, Thielen leads the NFL with 58 receptions and 712 yards. He is on a staggering pace to reach 155 catches and 1,899 yards over a full season, which would break the record for receptions (Marvin Harrison, 143 in 2002) and fall 66 yards short of the best for yards (Calvin Johnson, 1,964 in 2012).“Adam has a great heart. He’s really a tough kid,” said coach Mike Zimmer, who revealed the anecdote about Thielen’s ill-advised practice dive. “He comes over to me and talks to me during the game about stuff that’s going on, and it’s always about Super Bowl Dru Samia Jersey , ‘These guys can’t guard me.'”That’s a brash declaration, decidedly un-Minnesotan, but this lifelong native of the state isn’t deluding himself. He’s not the biggest or the fastest of his peers around the league, the biggest reason he went undrafted as an NCAA Division II prospect at Minnesota State, but his route-running ability is just about unparalleled.“That dog mindset, as far as how he approaches the game and how he wants to win each and every rep, that’s something we have in common and that’s something that goes far with me especially because I know how he feels,” said fellow Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who is on pace for 107 catches and 1,160 yards himself. “I know if there’s anything bothering him or anything like that, he still never makes an excuse and he makes the plays. At the end of the day, we all only care about making the play.”Thielen has the most receptions through six games in NFL history, and he is the first player since 1961 to start a season with at least 100 receiving yards in each of the first six games. The 28-year-old is on track to set all kinds of Vikings records, no small feats with a franchise that has featured Pro Football Hall of Fame members Cris Carter and Randy Moss.This is not where Thielen’s motivation originates, though. He is noticeably uncomfortable when asked by reporters about such statistical accomplishments.“I’m just trying to help my team win games Dru Samia Jersey nfl draft ,” Thielen said. “Honestly, if you lead the league in receiving but you’re not winning games, it’s not a fun business to be in, so it doesn’t really matter what your stats are.”His take was no different on Sunday after he had 11 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown that helped the Vikings beat Arizona 27-17 .“I feel like I sound like a broken record, but it’s such a team stat,” Thielen said . “When you have great players around you, that’s the only way you can do those things. We have so many great players and great guys that are selfless.”There was no better example of Thielen’s impact on the success of the Vikings’ offense than early in the third quarter against the Cardinals as they clung to a 13-10 lead. Latavius Murray had just taken a 4-yard loss on a smothered toss sweep on second down, bringing up third-and-13 from the Vikings 42.Kirk Cousins was hit by Chandler Jones as he released the pass, one of 15 times he sent the ball Thielen’s way in a tight space in the zone coverage. With outstretched arms and dragging toes, Thielen secured the catch right in front of the first-down marker before tumbling out of bounds.Cardinals coach Steve Wilks challenged the call from the opposite sideline, perhaps assuming the difficulty of the task would reveal a bobble on the replay, but there was none to be seen.Five plays later, Thielen hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cousins for a 10-point lead.“It’s kind of a hidden play because it’s not the one that scored the points or the one that people will talk about,” Cousins said, “but that is a big Ben Gedeon Jersey , big play.” The first year of the Kirk Cousins experiment didn’t go well, with the Vikings regressing from a final four team to one of the 20 franchises that watch the playoffs from home. In a recent visit to the set at the Super Bowl, Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs was asked to make the case for patience to Vikings fans.“First year,” Diggs said. “New system, new quarterback, new receivers. Everybody’s new. Still got to adjust, and you know there’s a lot of room for improvement. We’ve had a lot of sparks. We had some good games. Some things that you saw that we could be really special. And doing it on a consistent basis is something that’s going to come with time. You can’t look forward to time. It’s not working against us, it’s working with us.”Time is the key word, in multiple respects. The Vikings need to improve their offensive line, in order to give Cousins more time to find open receivers. While Case Keenum had the ability to scramble away from pressure, buying time until a receiver popped open, Cousins never got far from the pocket because he can’t.Then there’s the issue of Cousins’ performances in prime time and other big spots. The narrative has taken on a life of it own, and the best hope for the Vikings, frankly, will be to have as few night games as possible in 2019 Cameron Smith Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , something that is far more likely given the fact that the Vikings lost much of their luster in 2018.At some point, however, Cousins will have to win a game that starts at night or otherwise carries with it some significant consequence. Last year, Cousins and the Vikings lost on a Thursday night to the Rams, a Sunday night to the Saints, a Sunday night to the Bears, and a Monday night to the Seahawks. Cousins and the Vikings also lost high-profile 4:25 p.m. ET games to the Patriots and Bears.In fairness to quarterback and team, Minnesota won a Sunday night game against the Packers, and a 4:25 p.m. ET game at Philly. (In fairness to fairness, both of those teams were struggling at the time the Vikings played them.)So that’s a record of 2-6 in games that mattered the most, and that’s not the kind of performance that will get the Vikings to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1976, or even remotely close to it.