Tyler Eifert Assumes Central Role as Bengals Trounce Raiders in Season Opener

The old saying goes "better late than never," and it's one applying to the Cincinnati Bengals after Sunday saw tight end Tyler Eifert explode in a 33-13 win against the Oakland Raiders.

In his first regular-season action since last year's opener, Eifert took O.co Coliseum in Oakland by storm, acting as the centerpiece of Cincinnati's offense on his way to nine catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

It's been a long time coming.

The Bengals drafted Eifert out of Notre Dame with the 21st pick in the 2013 NFL draft, only to throw at him 59 times as a rookie while he worked on his blocking and sparred with the veteran Jermaine Gresham for playing time.

Fast-forward to last season, when Eifert was supposed to move above Gresham on the depth chart and be the uber-athletic option the passing game needed in all areas. He suited up against the Baltimore Ravens, caught all three of his targets for 37 yards early on and then went down with a season-ending elbow injury.

Coach Marvin Lewis and his staff gave it the old college try again Sunday with the 6'6", 250-pound Eifert. The results, especially in comparison to the rest of the receivers, say quite a lot: 

	REC	YDS	TD	TGTS
Tyler Eifert	9	104	2	12
A.J. Green	5	63	0	8
Mohamed Sanu	2	34	0	3
Giovani Bernard	6	25	0	6
Rex Burkhead	1	24	0	1
Marvin Jones	2	19	0	3
Ryan Hewitt	0	0	0	1

Eifert is a matchup nightmare—there's no two ways around it. Few linebackers or safeties in the league can run or cover a guy of his size and jaw-dropping catch radius.

But the numbers tell an even more important story. Eifert wasn't just part of the game plan—he was it. When things fell apart, Andy Dalton looked to Eifert first instead of just chucking up a deep ball to A.J. Green. On third down, Dalton looked to Eifert. In the red zone, same thing.

As a residual effect, Dalton was getting rid of the ball quicker than usual and not forcing it into tight spaces if Green wasn't open. Instead, Green, Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu and others had more room to operate elsewhere on the field.

Even with Eifert blanketed, Dalton didn't hesitate to laser it into a tight space he wouldn't normally entrust to other targets. The duo's second touchdown connection provided the proof, per the NFL:

Above is what the Bengals envisioned when drafting Eifert, then attempting to give him the reins last year. Below is a taste of what they hope comes next, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Before his 2015 debut, Eifert told ESPN.com's Coley Harvey he could only control his performance once the coaches decided to get him involved.

"I hope to be involved a lot," Eifert said. "Like I've said before, it depends upon what plays we call. I control understanding the defense and our plays and what we need to do. But it all has to come together."

Suffice it to say, Lewis and Co. aren't shy about getting the ball to Eifert more than anyone else despite the presence of a wideout who just signed a $60 million contract.

So it goes. This plan has been in the pipelines for a long time, the safe and secure option on almost every passing play meant to ease the load away from Dalton and reduce mistakes.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Not every team struggles to contain tight ends the way Oakland does, of course. There will be dud games for Eifert from a box-score scouting department, but rest assured those games will see other targets step up as defenses collapse on Eifert and throw their best resources at slowing him.

Not every team is ever fortunate enough to see itself clicking on all cylinders as intended. Injuries are a fickle, inevitable beast in this physical sport, but the Bengals got to see the envisioned play executed to near-perfection on Sunday.

Though it won't always be as pretty, the Bengals are healthy, and Eifert stands in the middle of what can be a force of an offense. While a year late, Eifert just provided a preview of what might be next for the team.

Few better ways exist to start a season, especially one where expectations to get over the hump persist. Even more so for Eifert, the man in the middle.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and are accurate as of September 13. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.