Toward the end of the Vikings' 21-6 loss in Seattle last Dec. 10, sideline microphones picked up an exasperated expletive from Adam Thielen, as the wide receiver's frustrations with an offense stuck in neutral reached their breaking point.
Fifty-one weeks later, as Thielen is expected to make his return from a right hamstring injury for another Monday night game in Seattle, he'll return to an offense that's ranked eighth in the league this season and has diversified itself in his absence.
"We've relied on some different personnel groupings; I think we've asked a little bit more of an Irv Smith, a Tyler Conklin, even our running backs being receivers," quarterback Kirk Cousins said. "They've really answered the call and shown what they can do. You like to think it gives you more versatility and more experience to lean on if we have Adam back, knowing there are a few others who are [more] battle-tested than they otherwise would have been."
Thielen didn't practice Wednesday but went through an extensive pregame warmup before the Vikings' Nov. 17 win over the Broncos. The Vikings cut Josh Doctson on Tuesday because "we felt like we were in good shape at receiver," coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday. The team had not cleaned out Doctson's locker as of Wednesday (indicating he could be re-signed at some point), but his release would suggest the Vikings are optimistic about having Thielen on Monday night in Seattle. Quarterback Cousins went so far as to say on his radio show last week that Thielen will play in Seattle.
While he was healthy for all of the Vikings' first six games, Thielen was tied for second in the league with five receiving touchdowns. Cousins had a 138.8 passer rating on throws to Thielen in those games, according to Sharp Football Stats.
But early in the year, the passing game leaned heavily on Thielen, Diggs and screens to Dalvin Cook. Those three players accounted for 98 of Cousins' 143 targets in those games, with no other player posting more than 10 catches in that time.
After Thielen injured his hamstring on his 25-yard touchdown pass from Cousins in Detroit, though, the Vikings were forced to adapt.
They've still worked prominently through Diggs (who is on pace to be just the third player this century to catch 60 passes while averaging more than 19 yards a reception) and Cook, but they've turned to other options in that time. Smith has 20 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown, while fellow rookie Bisi Johnson has 15 catches for 131 yards (including two TDs). They've also rediscovered tight end Kyle Rudolph, who's got five touchdowns — and leads the team with seven red zone targets — in the Vikings' past five games.