Not much went right for the Vikings on Sunday in Foxboro, losing 24-10 in a game that wasn't close after halftime. Kirk Cousins threw the ball 44 times for just 201 yards, and one of the league's best players, wide receiver Adam Thielen had one of his worst outings of the season. He was targeted 10 times, but managed just five catches for 28 yards and a score.

Thielen's most memorable moment came after the whistle. Early in the fourth quarter, the Vikings appeared to be stuffed on fourth-and-inches. The officials awarded them a first down anyway but before Minnesota could hurry to the line, the clock was stopped for an injury timeout for Patriots safety Patrick Chung. Thielen wasn't buying it, and he appeared to say as much to Bill Belichick.

If you're not a lip-reader, no worries:

"Interesting timing for a guy to go down," Thielen told reporters afterwards, via NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran. "It was a close play that could've been reviewed. For me, I just lost my emotions."

He continued: "I just thought the play was cheap. I wasn't directing it towards him. I just thought the play was cheap. But, like I said, I let my emotions get the best of me. It's a smart football play -- if you are in that situation, why not? It's not cheating. There's no rule against it, from a guy going down. I don't know if he was hurt or not. He might've been hurt. That's fine, it is what it is. Just interesting timing for a guy to go down when it's a close play."

Meanwhile, Belichick's recounting of events was as bland as you might imagine.

Happy Holidays, indeed.

Chung, when asked about Thielen's remarks, told WEEI's Ryan Hannable, "He can think what he wants to think."

And two other Patriots defensive backs, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon, didn't seem surprised by Belichick's reaction to Thielen.

The Belichick-Thielen exchange came up again on Monday, during quarterback Tom Brady's weekly radio appearance.

"I've been on the other end of that a few times in my career," Brady told WEEI. "Pretty funny. ... It's competitive out there. It's very feisty and everyone's emotions are on their sleeves. You say something and there is just an emotional reaction. That was pretty funny."

But Brady said there have been Patriots players who gave it back to Belichick and lived to tell about it.

"[Mike Vrabel] was pretty good, [Matt] Light was pretty good, Junior Seau was pretty good," he said. "The guys that kind of not give a you-know-what were the best ones with him. Julian [Edelman] is pretty good now. Julian is quick to go back at him now. It's pretty funny."

Thielen, for his part, is moving on.

"No offense taken," the wide receiver said. "It's football, there's emotions. He can think what he wants to think about me. It doesn't really change how I'm going to go play the game. He can hate me all he wants. I'm still going to be the same person I am. I'm going to try to go out and do my best and try to compete every play."

The Vikings are currently the seventh seed in the NFC, on the outside looking in for the final wild-card spot.