Wide receiver Adam Thielen has been named the NFC special teams player of the week.
In Sunday's win over the Panthers, Thielen blocked and recovered a punt then returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. The second-year player also added a pair of tackles on special teams.
"It's special. It's special for this whole special-teams unit," Thielen said. "We work hard and all the players that contribute to special teams, we're excited for one another. And it's a team award."
The blocked punt returned for a touchdown was one of two on the day by the Vikings, who became the fifth team in NFL history to return two blocked punts for scores in the same game.
This is the first player of the week award for Thielen, who attended Minnesota State Mankato. He didn't play special teams for the Mavericks, so it's a new, more physical experience for the wide-out.
"It's actually a really fun thing for me because I've never done it," he said. "It was kind of a challenge and something I've really focused on to get better at, because that's my role right now."
