Tyler Eifert on drops against Texans: 'It's embarrassing'

By Zach Kruse

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, who dropped a handful of passes during Cincinnati’s 10-6 loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, said he played “awful” and called his performance “embarrassing.”

“There are certain times, it’s happened to me before where you’re fighting the ball,” Eifert said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “You’re not just throwing your hands up and catching it, you’re thinking about catching the ball, which, that’s not what you’re supposed to do, that’s not how you naturally catch the ball.”

Eifert came into the contest as one of the NFL’s most productive tight ends. In fact, he led the league in touchdown receptions with nine after just nine weeks.

His drops on Monday night helped cause the Bengals’ first loss of the season.

Eifert’s drop in the second quarter took away a sure-fire first down and forced the Bengals to kick a short field goal. He fell apart on Cincinnati’s final two drives, with a drop on second down that led to a punt and another drop on the first play of the final series. Both opportunities could have ended in big plays for the Bengals offense, which finished with just 256 yards of total offense.

Quarterback Andy Dalton had a season-low 197 yards passing, while Eifert caught three passes for only 26 yards.

“I played awful. It’s embarrassing,” Eifert said. “This has never happened to me in a game. I’ve got to get on the Jugs (machine). That can’t happen. I let my teammates down. But, we move on and come back to work on Wednesday.”

The Texans defense played well for long stretches on Monday night, but the Bengals also couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. Dalton threw a bad interception and had two or three near misses for picks, while receiver A.J. Green ended Cincinnati’s comeback bid when he fumbled away the football on the offense’s final possession. Throw in Eifert’s butterfingers and the Bengals’ 4-for-14 performance on third down, and the Texans were able to walk out of Paul Brown Stadium with one of the bigger upsets of the season.

The Bengals are now 8-1. Only the Carolina Panthers and New England remain undefeated after 10 weeks.

Eifert and the Bengals will attempt to bounce back when Cincinnati travels to Arizona for another primetime clash in Week 11.

More from The Sports Daily: