Vikings Snap Counts: Treadwell gets involved, Thielen's return cut short
Adam Thielen's return from a hamstring injury last just seven plays.
The Vikings receiver was on the field for just seven of the offense's 71 snaps Sunday during Minnesota's 26-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and was targeted just once in the passing game.
Thielen, who suffered a hamstring injury during the Vikings' win over the Detroit Lions in Week 7, missed Week 8 and was listed as questionable heading into Week 9. The Vikings' top receiver last season, Thielen has 391 receiving yards and a team-leading six touchdowns in eight games.
Olabisi Johnson once again played the bulk of the game -- 59 snaps -- catching his second career touchdown, while Laquon Treadwell also saw an uptick in his usage.
Treadwell led the Vikings with a career-high 58 receiving yards on five targets and three catches. It's just the second 50-yard game of Treadwell's four-year career.
It was an odd game all around for the Vikings' pass catchers.
Running back Dalvin Cook led the team with seven targets, followed by rookie tight end Irv Smith Jr. with six. Receiver Stefon Diggs was targeted four times and had just one catch for four yards after topping 140 receiving yards in each of his last three games.
Other notes from Sunday's snap counts:
-- Primarily a kick returner since joining the Vikings last year, little-used running back Ameer Abdullah scored his first touchdown since 2017 on Sunday. Abdullah out-snapped rookie running back Alexander Mattison for just the second time this season.
-- Safeties Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris as well as linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr were on the field for all of the defense's snaps for the third straight game, and the fourth time in the last five weeks.
-- Cornerback Xavier Rhodes played 92% of the defense's snaps, up from just 70% last week.
OFFENSE
| PLAYER | Plays (71) | % |
| Reiff | 71 | 100% |
| Kline | 71 | 100% |
| Elflein | 71 | 100% |
| O'Neill | 71 | 100% |
| Cousins | 71 | 100% |
| Bradbury | 71 | 100% |
| Diggs | 63 | 89% |
| Johnson | 59 | 83% |
| Cook | 57 | 80% |
| Rudolph | 55 | 77% |
| I. Smith | 43 | 61% |
| Ham | 22 | 31% |
| Treadwell | 20 | 28% |
| Conklin | 14 | 20% |
| Abdullah | 9 | 13% |
| Thielen | 7 | 10% |
| Mattison | 6 | 8% |
DEFENSE
| PLAYER | Plays (60) | % |
| Harris | 60 | 100% |
| Barr | 60 | 100% |
| Kendricks | 60 | 100% |
| H. Smith | 60 | 100% |
| Griffen | 55 | 92% |
| Rhodes | 55 | 92% |
| Hunter | 52 | 87% |
| Waynes | 51 | 85% |
| Joseph | 44 | 73% |
| Hughes | 39 | 65% |
| Stephen | 38 | 63% |
| Alexander | 32 | 53% |
| Weatherly | 18 | 30% |
| Odenigbo | 17 | 28% |
| J. Johnson | 14 | 23% |
| Gedeon | 3 | 5% |
| Wilson | 1 | 2% |
| Kearse | 1 | 2% |
