The Cincinnati Bengals are preparing for a highly-touted matchup against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in Week 16. Under the guidance of backup quarterback AJ McCarron, the Bengals had no issues getting past the San Francisco 49ers, but the Broncos and their top-rated defense will be a different story. If McCarron is going to get a big, marquee win to his resume, it will be without the team's top tight end.
According to the Bengals via the Cincinnati Inquirer, Tyler Eifert has been ruled out for Week 16 play. The tight end continues to deal with a concussion suffered on Dec. 13 and the league has not cleared him to play. That is a big blow for the Bengals as Eifert has been the best playmaker for the team outside of AJ Green. With 12 touchdowns on the season, McCarron would love to have Eifert as his safety blanket on the court. Instead, he will have Tyler Kroft getting the start who caught his first NFL touchdown in Week 15.
The Bengals need a lot from Kroft in Week 16 as he could get more and more playing time heading into the playoffs. According to NFL Media's Rand Getlin, Eifert could be out for the remainder of the regular season with this concussion. The Bengals are headed to the playoffs and now it is just a matter of earning a bye the first week and home field advantage. While Cincinnati wants all of that, they will not rush Eifert back to get it. According to Getlin, nothing is definitive yet, but the Bengals want to do the right thing and will keep a close eye on the tight end's health moving forward.
While Green and Marvin Jones will handle the receiving game for McCarron, there are questions about the run game. In Week 15, Giovani Bernard got the start over Jeremy Hill. It was not revealed the reasoning behind the move as the two running backs have been battling for most of the season. The two backs have been splitting carries over the past few weeks which could continue. According to Hills, he is more worried about winning than anything else.
"I haven't looked at my numbers all year," Hill said, via ESPN.com. "I really don't care what they are. I'm just focused on helping my team. Y'all keep telling me how much I have, but it is what it is. When you're on a team like this and you're 11-3 at this point and in position to do great things, you really don't put your self goals up there. You're really just trying to make a couple of plays above that stuff because we're in a position to do bigger things."