Cincinnati Bengals TE Tyler Eifert to miss Sunday's game in New England

The Cincinnati Bengals have missed Tyler Eifert this season, and may continue to miss him for a few more weeks.

The Cincinnati Bengals will be without Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert again this week. It’s not exactly shocking news, given that Eifert has yet to make his season debut with the team. And it doesn’t look like he’s going to be back anytime soon, as his team prepares to travel to New England on Sunday for a date with Tom Brady and the Patriots.

In a report from Pro Football Talk, Eifert has recovered from offseason ankle surgery. It’s a newer back injury that is to blame for his recent absence in last week’s loss to Dallas. The fact that he’s not able to play is crippling to Cincinnati’s offense, considering he was last year’s team leader in receiving touchdowns and is a favorite red zone target of quarterback Andy Dalton.

After Sunday’s road trip, the Bengals have two more home games coming up before their Week 9 bye. With this newest back injury, some Bengals fans are left to wonder if he will even be able to play before the bye week.

Until he returns, the Bengals are going to be a very slow-scoring team. With him gone, Dalton has to turn his red zone attention to AJ Green. His numbers have been down this year as well, but will likely see a boost now that he will have to be relied upon more — at least until Eifert can get back on the field.

The Bengals are 2-3 so far on the 2016 season, having won their season opener against the Jets and then managing a Week 4 win against the Dolphins. When they come back from the bye week, their schedule is only going to get tougher, so they will definitely be hoping Eifert makes his return sooner than later.