Despite his sporadic appearances on the field, Tyler Eifert remains the biggest component of the Cincinnati Bengals offense thanks to the way he helps along Andy Dalton.
Bengals fans saw this well enough a year ago. Dalton started hot, leading the team to some impressive victories and appearing to have turned a corner. Eifert went down in Week 4 and things spiraled out of control quickly.
As Pro Football Focus points out above, the Dalton-Eifert tandem remains one of the deadliest in the NFL.
Impressive, considering this is on all of just 183 attempts, placing the duo on a list that dates back to 2006.
While the Bengals might have a new head coach in Zac Taylor, it’s hard to imagine this predicament changes too much — Eifert is that good when he’s healthy. If Eifert isn’t on the field, defenses simply don’t have to stretch themselves as thin while also trying to account for running backs and a solid core of wideouts headed up by A.J. Green.
It’s no wonder, then, the Bengals were willing to bring back Eifert on another short-term deal despite only appearing in four games a year ago. He’s played in four or fewer in three of his last five seasons and no more than eight in a season.
With Dalton technically entering a prove-it year too, he and Eifert’s futures have never been more intimately connected.
