The first quarter was one to forget for Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen.
Fortunately, his plumbing skills and his quarterback came through, so he had a chance at a better memory.
Thielen fumbled on the third play of the game which led to a Saints field goal, and he was also called for holding, which wiped out a 12-yard run by Alexander Mattison. He knew he had to move on.
“I was just flushing the toilet,” Thielen said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It’s a motto that I learned in college. I’m going to go flush it down the toilet and I’m going to go to the next play. I even made a motion like, ‘Hey, flush that, because for me it doesn’t matter what happened in the past.’ ”
He explained that at Minnesota State Mankato, they had a “mental coach” share that message with the team, and that they had a commode on the sideline to reinforce the message.
Thankfully he didn’t need a porcelain reminder Sunday, and he was on the receiving end of the 43-yard bomb from Kirk Cousins
“Kirk just threw a great ball,” Thielen said. “It was a perfect ball that really just dropped right in the bucket. Kudos to him.”
And with that splash play, the Saints’ season went right down the drain.