Eifert’s ankle injury so gruesome that networks wouldn’t show it
Early in the third quarter of Sunday’s NFL game in Atlanta, Cincinnati tight end Tyler Eifert caught a routine short pass from Andy Dalton. But when he was tackled and fell to the ground, his right ankle was twisted until it crumbled: fractured and dislocated.
It was so gruesome that Scott Hanson, director of NFL RedZone, quickly ordered: “Don’t show the replay!”
In frustration Eifert pounded his right hand against the ground. Medical staff rushed to him, inserted the mangled leg into an air cast.
A cart wheeled Eifert off the Mercedes-Benz field. He waved, tried to appear confident. But as soon as he entered the tunnel, he began sobbing, covering his face with a towel.
Nobody had to wait for X-rays to know his season was done.
As Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said at his postgame press conference: “Any time you put an air cast on somebody . . . “ No need to continue the thought.
This mishap was especially disheartening because of what it undid. Eifert is 6-6, 255 pounds, a matchup nightmare for defenses, especially in the end zone. When healthy he’s one of the most productive tight ends in the league.
Unfortunately, Eifert has rarely been healthy since catching 52 passes, 13 of them for touchdowns, in 2015. Since then he’s played in just 13 games of his team’s 36.
This latest injury is likely to have consequences beyond 2019. NFL orthopedists compare Eifert to what happened to the New York Giants’ Odell Beckham a year ago. The Pro Bowl wide receiver is playing this season, but he admits he doesn’t have the same explosion in his step that he had before the injury. The team trainers say it usually takes a football player longer than a year to have full recovery from such a blow.
For the Bengals, the loss of Eifert is almost sure to mean a significant loss in effectiveness of quarterback Andy Dalton, who is having one of his finest seasons after 2017 was one of his worst. At 3-1 the Bengals are tied with Baltimore for first place in the AFC North. Dalton is on pace to throw 44 touchdowns.
For the first time since Eifert was heathy in 2015, Dalton had a full complement of receivers this year. He used Eifert sparingly but effectively. Eifert caught 15 of the 19 passes targeted for him, and he made 10 first downs and a TD.
The Bengals can replace Eifert with C.J. Uzomah and Tyler Kroft who block better than Eifert. But they’re not the threat he is in the passing game. Except for the season-ending knee injury to San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Eifert’s ankle may be the most consequential casualty of 2018 so far.
On the upside, Eifert is young enough at 28 to make a full recovery before age erodes his skills as much as collision does.
He posted a message that indicated determination and a laudable sense of perspective: “With the support of my family, friends, trainers, teammates and coaches, this will soon be another obstacle that was overcome and life will go on.”
