SEATTLE (AP) — While the Minnesota Vikings are still fully in control of their path to the postseason Brian Burns Jersey , Adam Thielen knows it’s starting to slip away. Seven points on Monday night in an ugly 21-7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. It’s not good enough. The Vikings know it, and the frustration is beginning to build.“We’re fighting as an offense, we’re trying to get something going. We just need a spark. We need a spark and we need it fast,” Thielen said. “I think we have a bunch of guys on this offense that want to win and want to make plays. But we haven’t found that rhythm. It’s there. It’s there. We just have to keep fighting.”Minnesota lost its second straight and had an offensive night to forget against a Seattle defense that had appeared vulnerable of late. Minnesota (6-6-1) twice had scoring chances in the fourth quarter when it was still a one-score game, but was turned away each time.The Vikings’ chances of winning the NFC North took a major hit with the loss, but they still hold the No. 6 spot in the NFC — for now.“I don’t know how to give you a measurement on that, I don’t know what the scale is for that number, but certainly, when you’re not putting as many points on the board as you’re capable of or have shown in past games it is disappointing,” Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “I think the added piece of the disappointment is when your defense is playing so well.”Minnesota’s defense more than did its part against Seattle. The Vikings held the Seahawks to six points into the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a poor night by Russell Wilson. And while Seattle ran crazy against one of the better run defenses in the NFL, the Vikings did enough to keep it a one-score game long enough for Cousins, Thielen and the rest of their offensive crew to have a chance.But Minnesota couldn’t convert. They were turned away on fourth down at the Seattle 1 with 9:06 remaining and on their next possession Dan Bailey’s 47-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Bobby Wagner on a debatable call whether Wagner’s leap over the offensive line was legal.Whether or not Wagner’s play was legal, the Vikings never found the end zone until Cousins’ 6-yard TD pass to Dalvin Cook with 1:10 left. All it did was keep the Vikings from being shutout for the first time since 2007.“We’ve got to score points, we’ve got to move the ball http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/greg-little-jersey , we’ve got to stay on schedule,” Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs said. “We can’t get behind the chains. It’s simple things. We can’t get behind the sticks.”Cousins finished 20 of 33 for 208 yards, but had just 56 yards passing entering the fourth quarter. He noted that teams are rotating their coverages on Diggs and Thielen, trying to slow down Minnesota’s passing game, and he’s not going to force throws into danger. Seattle played seven defensive backs at times trying to contain Diggs and Thielen.That extra coverage is partly why Thielen, who entered the game with 98 catches, didn’t get his first target until midway through the third quarter. By that point, Seattle offensive tackle George Fant already had a catch after reporting eligible on a play.“We didn’t have a lot of explosive plays, again credit the Seahawks for limiting those,” Cousins said. “When you don’t have explosive plays, and you’re kind of marching methodically down the field, it was hard for us to sustain.”The most frustrating sequence for Minnesota was early in the fourth quarter trailing 6-0 and after finally hitting a 48-yard reception to Diggs to get deep into Seattle territory. The Vikings had first-and-goal at the 4, but after two short runs and an incompletion, faced fourth-and-goal at the 1. Rather than run, Cousins tried to hit Kyle Rudolph across the middle Will Grier Jersey , but the pass was broken up by Bradley McDougald.“Every situation that we failed at the end of the night is frustrating,” Cook said. “We just have to go and fix it and watch film. We have to get it right.” CINCINNATI (AP) — Six straight losses, starting with a pregame scuffle and an epic playoff meltdown.Blown lead after blown lead.Losing their cool and games, too.There’s a common thread to the Bengals‘ most intense rivalry, one that’s been one-sided the past three seasons.No matter what happened, the Steelers always won.The Bengals (4-1) lead the AFC North heading into the renewal of their acrimonious rivalry Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. They have a chance to create separation from the Steelers (2-2-1). A loss would extend their streak of futility, leave the division wide open, and reinforced the notion that the Bengals can’t get away from their history.Not that they even care to talk about it.“The history doesn’t matter because the history hasn’t been in our favor,” defensive end Carlos Dunlap said Wednesday.That’s an understatement. The rivalry isn’t history as much as a horror story for Cincinnati, strewn with incredible comebacks — all by the Steelers — and ugly moments that made even players wonder if it was getting out of hand.The story has different plot twists, but always the same ending.“It seems like the Bengals, every time they play them they have the game won and something slips, something happens, and everything just goes to whatever-you-want-to-call-it,” linebacker Preston Brown said.It’s not only lately http://www.carolinapanthersteamonline.com/christian-miller-jersey , either. The Steelers have won nine of 10 and 14 of 17 in the series. The Bengals are 8-24 against the Steelers under coach Marvin Lewis, including 2-15 at Paul Brown Stadium with a pair of playoff losses seared into franchise history.During the 2005 season, Carson Palmer’s left knee was torn on his first pass by Kimo von Oelhoffen’s hit, and Pittsburgh won 31-17. Ten years later, the Steelers came to town twice and the rivalry took an ugly turn.Players had nasty social media exchanges leading to their game on Dec. 13, 2015, and several got into a scrum at midfield during warmups . Andy Dalton broke the thumb on his passing hand while making a tackle after an interception. The Steelers went on to win 33-20, starting the streak of six straight Pittsburgh victories.They returned for the first round of the playoffs, and AJ McCarron had the Bengals in position to finish off their first postseason victory in a quarter of a century. Jeremy Hill fumbled, Vontaze Burfict hit Antonio Brown in the head on an incompletion, Adam “Pacman” Jones bumped an official, and the Steelers took advantage of the meltdown for an 18-16 win on Chris Boswell’s 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds left.“The one that everybody remembers,” Brown called it. “I’m not going to talk about it. I’m not going to say nothing about it. We all know the playoff game and what happened.”The Steelers swept the series in 2016, including a 24-20 win at Paul Brown Stadium that eliminated the Bengals from playoff contention and ended their streak of five straight postseason appearances. The Bengals blew a 17-3 lead and gained only 38 yards in the second half.Last year, the Bengals managed only 19 yards in the second half of a 29-14 loss at Heinz Field. The Steelers also won the rematch 23-20 at Paul Brown Stadium on a Monday night game that included the Bengals blowing a 17-0 lead and players getting flagged for egregious hits. Boswell’s 38-yard field goal on the final play completed another big Steelers comeback.In the aftermath Jordan Scarlett Jersey , JuJu Smith-Schuster got a one-game suspension for decking Burfict and then standing over him. Bengals safety George Iloka got a one-game suspension that was later reduced to a $36,464.50 fine for hitting Brown in the head.There were four penalties for unnecessary roughness, one for unsportsmanlike conduct, one for taunting, one for roughing the passer and two 15-yard penalties for grabbing the facemask. Cincinnati set a club record with 173 yards in penalties.Pittsburgh’s Ryan Shazier was hurt in that game as well, suffering a spinal injury while making a tackle.And now, they’re getting back together again.“We’ve seen the past, what’s happened in the past,” Dunlap said, “but the past is the past now.”NO GIORunning back Giovani Bernard worked out on a side field wearing a knee brace Wednesday. He sat out a 27-17 win over Miami on Sunday with the knee injury. Receiver John Ross had a limited practice after sitting out a win over the Dolphins with a groin injury. Guard Clint Boling (hip) and tight end Tyler Kroft (foot) also were held out of practice.MORE MOVESThe Bengals signed tight end Matt Lengel off Houston’s practice squad and added safety Demetrious Cox to the practice squad.