Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were the Vikings’ goats, not heroes, in loss to the Saints

Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs have been rock star, dynamite producers at wide receiver for the Vikings. That’s why it was a surprise when they each made a huge mistake that ended up costing the Vikings in a 30-20 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

That’s not to say they played poorly — they didn’t by any stretch. They were still two of the best players for the Vikings on Sunday night. Diggs caught 10 of his 11 targets for a game-high 119 yards, while Thielen had his eighth straight 100-yard receiving game, tying Calvin Johnson for an NFL record. It was the third time this season the two went over 100 yards in the same game, matching a Vikings record with Cris Carter and Randy Moss. Both scored touchdowns.

But football games can be changed in the blink of an eye, and that’s exactly what happened against the Saints. With the two turnovers that Minnesota’s star receivers had a hand in, they went from hero to goat.

With 1:11 left in the first half, the Vikings were in the red zone and leading the Saints 13-10. They had a chance to go up by two scores right before halftime — and they were getting the ball first in the second half — but then disaster struck. Kirk Cousins threw a quick bubble screen to Thielen, who fumbled the ball after being hit by Saints linebacker Alex Anzalone.

Fumbling the ball is bad. Fumbling the ball in the red zone is even worse. Fumbling the ball in the red zone and having it returned 54 yards the other direction? That’s straight up catastrophic.

The ball bounced into Marshon Lattimore’s hands, who then flipped the field. It didn’t help that Vikings receiver Laquon Treadwell got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that gave the Saints an additional 15 yards on top of the 54 (69 yards in total ... nice) they gained off the fumble recovery.

Two plays later, Alvin Kamara scored on a 1-yard run to put the Saints up 17-13 going into halftime. Minnesota was in control of the game up to this point, but after the fumble and the touchdown, the Vikings never had the lead again. It was the turning point of the game.

Thielen’s fumble was bad, but Diggs’ gaffe might have been worse.

Early in the third quarter after the Saints kicked a field goal to make the game 20-13, the Vikings had the ball and a chance to tie. Well, they did until Cousins threw a back-breaking pick-six that put the Saints up 27-13 — a two-score lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.

Diggs was running a shallow crossing route against man coverage while Cousins was under heavy pressure from the Saints. Inexplicably, Diggs broke off his route and Cousins threw the ball to where Diggs was supposed to be instead of where Diggs ended up.

Against man coverage, receivers are supposed to keep running through the route since there aren’t any holes to sit down in. Against zone coverage, Diggs would’ve had an opportunity to find a soft spot to make himself a target for Cousins.

After the game, Diggs took complete blame for the interception. Via ESPN:

“(Cousins) was under duress and I was trying to give him a relief throw just because the pocket was collapsing and I was trying to show him my hands and he just did what he’s coached to do, threw it to the spot. Miscommunication, and I take full responsibility. He did everything right. It was all me.”

That interception essentially put the game out of reach for the Vikings. Minnesota wasn’t able to get on the board again until there were just over four minutes left in the game — a 1-yard touchdown pass to Thielen got the score to 30-20.

These two turnovers really hurt the Vikings against the Saints, but even the best players make mistakes. Diggs and Thielen are still the focal points of the Vikings offense, and they will have many more chances to make up for it throughout the season.

And hey, at least Diggs will always have the Minneapolis Miracle to hang his hat on.