Minnesota Vikings: Adam Thielen isn’t most important factor vs. 49ers

With injury concerns with Minnesota Vikings’ Adam Thielen ahead of the NFC Divisional Round, here’s why the wideout isn’t the biggest factor for the game.

As the Minnesota Vikings continue on in the 2020 NFL Playoffs this weekend, the Vikings once again are dealing with an injury concern surrounding one of their key players. Earlier in the week, Minnesota announced that wide receiver Adam Thielen was limited in practice leading up to the game after suffering a cut on his left ankle that took place during practice on Wednesday.

The cut on Thielen’s ankle required stitches, with the wide receiver mentioning to the media during the week of practice that he will do whatever he can to get on the field this weekend.

Thielen was held out of practice as recent as Thursday afternoon prior to Minnesota taking off for the playoff showdown this weekend. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Good Morning Football on Friday that the wide receiver is likely to play on Saturday, although he will be limited to participating in any activities leading up to the game.

Thielen and the Vikings are looking to steal yet another game on the road on Saturday evening in the NFC Divisional Round when they take on the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers at 4:35 p.m. ET on Saturday at Levi’s Stadium.

The winner of the contest at San Francisco will advance to the NFC Championship Game to take on the winner of the other NFC Divisional Round game between the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.

Thielen’s injury adds to the list of injury struggles the wide receiver has experienced throughout the 2019 campaign, with Thielen missing a decent amount of time during the regular season while overcoming a hamstring injury.

He did, however, return to the Wild Card Game against the New Orleans Saints last weekend and played a large role in helping Minnesota come away with an upset win in overtime over the third-seeded Saints.

In that game at the Superdome, Thielen finished the game with a team-high seven receptions for 129 yards, including hauling in a big reception from quarterback Kirk Cousins in overtime that set up the game-winning touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph to lift the Vikings to victory.

Although Thielen is a key piece to the Minnesota offense and especially the passing game, he might not be needed as much as he was against New Orleans and might not be the most important factor for the Vikings when they face off against the 49ers on Saturday.

Thielen has the ability to open things up for the Minnesota offense, but more important factors for the Vikings are fellow wide receiver Stefon Diggs — who was held in check for the most part in Minnesota’s Wild Card Round victory — and running back Dalvin Cook.

Diggs will look to step up and have a big performance for the Vikings to pair with Cousins in the passing game, while Minnesota will likely lean heavily once again on Cook to pace the way for its running game against San Francisco.

It is concerning that Thielen is dealing with yet another injury just a few days prior to the Vikings’ big playoff matchup against the 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, but he might not be the most important factor when it comes to what Minnesota is able to accomplish on offense to try and continue to advance in the postseason this year.