Not from Vikings coaches or teammates, but from fans who rode his NFL-record eight consecutive games with 100 receiving yards into the recent fantasy football playoffs they may have lost because of his recent stat lines. The Vikings scored a season-high 41 points against the Dolphins in Week 15, the start of many fantasy playoffs, but Thielen had a season-low two catches for 19 yards.
"I take a lot of heat for not having good games now," Thielen said Thursday, before catching himself — "for not having high-yardage games in fantasy football, especially in the [fantasy] playoffs."
There's a real playoff approach — as in the actual NFL playoffs — this week inside TCO Performance Center in Eagan.