MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings Benny Snell Jr. Jersey , still seeking to salvage a season that started with Super Bowl designs, made a last-ditch move to capture a mid-December spark by firing offensive coordinator John DeFilippo.Coach Mike Zimmer made what he called an “extremely difficult decision” on Tuesday morning, following a 21-7 defeat at Seattle on Monday night . just 13 games, amid a sharp decline in production by the offense over the past six weeks.“I went round and round and round and round about it because I feel like, ‘I hired him. It’s my job to try to help him to continue to get better,'” Zimmer said. “I obviously didn’t do a good enough job there. I’ve always felt like if you hire a guy, you should stick with him and try to help him and help him mature as a coach.”The Vikings (6-6-1) have been held to under 300 total yards in four of their past five games. They’ve scored an average of 12.8 points in those four games. Thanks to the struggles of several of their NFC competitors, though, they’re still in control of the second wild-card spot with three games to go.“I don’t want the season to be wasted. Now, maybe it will. Maybe it won’t,” Zimmer said. “But these three games, to me, are very, very critical.”Quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski was made interim offensive coordinator, taking over the play-calling duty. Stefanski has been an assistant with the Vikings since 2006, surviving two head coaching changes . Having coached quarterbacks, running backs and tight ends under Zimmer Zach Gentry Jersey , Stefanski has a firm grasp of the scheme and the personnel.“We’ve got a lot of smart guys in that room, and I’ll try to help him best I can,” Zimmer said.DeFilippo’s work with new quarterback Kirk Cousins didn’t materialize into consistent success, but Zimmer said his reasoning for dismissing DeFilippo transcended Cousins and his so-so first year with the Vikings.“This really wasn’t about one guy. This was about a lot of us holding up our end of the bargain. It was a collective thing,” Zimmer said on a conference call with reporters. He added: “We had to shake things up and try to get better.”Stefanski will be the fourth play-caller in five years under Zimmer, whose first offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, resigned halfway through the 2016 season. Pat Shurmur thrived in the role last year, behind a career-best season for fill-in quarterback Case Keenum and a 13-3 record that propelled the Vikings to the NFC championship game.Shurmur, however, was hired as head coach of the New York Giants. He wanted to bring Stefanski with him, but Zimmer blocked that move out of a desire to keep him on his own staff.The 40-year-old DeFilippo came from Philadelphia, lauded for his work as quarterbacks coach with Carson Wentz and then Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. He had previously served one season as an offensive coordinator, in 2015 with Cleveland.The Vikings, who committed a guaranteed $84 million to Cousins on an unprecedented three-year contract, piled up the passing yards over the first eight games. Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were dominating opposing teams, and the Vikings topped 400 total yards four times.Lately Nick Bosa Jersey , they’ve been unable to generate nearly enough points to stay in the NFC North race with Chicago (9-4). Zimmer publicly questioned DeFilippo’s decision-making more than once over the past month, stressing his interest in more of a run-pass balance and chiding him at one point for essentially trying to trick too many teams rather than relying on the offense’s strengths.The Vikings didn’t cross midfield on Monday night until late in the third quarter. They actually had a prime opportunity to pull out a victory down the stretch, after a 48-yard pass by Cousins to Diggs set them up in the red zone. They had first-and-goal from the 4, but Cousins threw two incompletions, missing an open Thielen on fourth down and misfiring to tight end Kyle Rudolph instead.“I think the added piece of the disappointment is when your defense is playing so well,” Cousins said after the Vikings went scoreless against the Seahawks until a garbage-time touchdown with 1:10 left in the game.He added: “If our offense would bring it the way that we brought it in the earlier weeks of the season, we could be pretty dangerous. Unfortunately, we haven’t put the whole complementary football together enough this season to really be the team that I think we know we’re capable of, and that will be the challenge these last three weeks.” CINCINNATI (AP)Andy Dalton was dreadful in the Bengals’ opener, turning over the ball five times and finishing with the second-lowest passer rating of his career. He’ll have one thing in his favor Thursday night: He tends not to let bad days linger. The crowd at Paul Brown Stadium will get on Dalton if he comes out subpar when the Bengals host the Texans, with both teams coming off lopsided opening losses. Dalton, who grew up in the Houston suburb of Katy, has struggled throughout his career against the Texans’ in-your-face defense. ”We had a down game, I had a down game,” Dalton said . ”I’ve just got to go back and play like I know I can play.” History is on his side. He matched his career high with four interceptions and lost a fumble during a 20-0 loss to the Ravens on Sunday, the first time Cincinnati was shut out in a home opener. The crowd of 55,254 – 10 L.J. Collier Jersey ,000 below stadium capacity – jeered him off the field. Dalton’s passer rating of 28.4 was the second lowest of his career. His only worse game was against the Browns in 2014, when he threw three interceptions at Paul Brown Stadium and had a rating of 2.0 during a 24-3 loss. Dalton followed it with a big game in a 27-10 win at New Orleans, throwing for three touchdowns and a rating of 143.9 that is the second best of his career. ”He’s very competitive and very particular about things,” coach Marvin Lewis said. Dalton is 1-5 career against his hometown team, including a pair of first-round playoff losses. He’s thrown three touchdowns and seven interceptions against the defense that’s been in his face and in his head. The Bengals expect his counterpart to be a rookie making his first NFL start , although the Texans hadn’t said anything definitively. Deshaun Watson took over at halftime of a 29-7 loss to the Jaguars and was 12 of 23 for 102 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a fumble. The first-round pick is the ninth quarterback to play for the Texans in the past five seasons. ”He’s a playmaker with good instincts, and he’s young,” Houston quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan said. ”He’s going to make some mistakes, and it’s on us to keep working with him and minimize his mistakes and get rid of them, not repeat them.” Some things to watch on Thursday night: OFFENSIVE LINES: The Texans gave up 10 sacks in their opener, while Dalton was sacked five times and under constant pressure – two of his interceptions were tipped. Dalton was among the NFL’s most-sacked quarterbacks last season, dropped 41 times. Neither team ran the ball much in the openers – the Texans had 93 yards, the Bengals 77 – leaving the quarterbacks in tough situations. BAITING THE ROOKIE: The Bengals are preparing for Watson and figure they’ll have a big advantage with a rookie making his first start on the road in a night game. ”You’ve got to give him different looks, not just drop into coverage,” cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. ”You disguise because that’s intimidating when you’ve got guys out there moving around, talking. That’s intimidating for a young quarterback because he’s got to be sitting back like Marquise Blair Jersey , `Man, those guys know what’s going on.”’ J.J.’S SECOND CHANCE: J.J. Watt’s return in the opener was underwhelming. He missed most of last season with a back injury. He was hoping to make a splash against the Jaguars, but managed only one tackle and one hit on the quarterback. Watt also was treated for a dislocated finger on his left hand. ”I think the emotion of it and just settling down is something that’s probably the biggest thing,” Watt said. ”Just settling down, trusting what I do and not trying to do too many things at once.” PACMAN & STRONG BACK, MANY OTHERS OUT: Bengals CB Adam “Pacman” Jones returns from his one-game suspension for an offseason misdemeanor conviction. LB Vontaze Burfict serves the second of his three-game NFL suspension for his latest egregious hit. The Texans get backWR Jaelen Strong from his one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, but they’ve got far worse injury problems than the Bengals. TE C.J. Fiedorowicz went on injured reserve with a concussion, and two other tight ends, Stephen Anderson and Ryan Griffin, are out with concussions, along with LB Brian Cushing and WR Bruce Ellington. BAD NUMBERS: The Texans last opened a season 0-2 in 2015. The Bengals haven’t gone 0-2 since 2008. They’ve been shut out in back-to-back games only once in their 50-year history, during the 2000 season. Coach Bruce Coslet resigned after that second shutout. Two members of the 2000 team, Rich Braham and Takeo Spikes, are among former Bengals stars to be honored at halftime Thursday. — AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report. —