Cincinnati Enquirer

ATLANTA – Giovani Bernard had tears in his eyes. C.J. Uzomah called it devastating. And John Ross admitted the Bengals were stunned after Tyler Eifert's catastrophic leg injury on the second play of the second half Sunday against the Falcons.

The Bengals locker room following the Bengals' 37-36 win appeared both shocked for their teammate and proud to earn the victory in his honor.

"You hate to see it for him, especially with a guy that's gone through so much to have something freak happen like that is tough," Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said. "You have to keep playing."

Eifert scored his first touchdown since December 2016 in the second quarter. His fourth catch of game — already his 15th of the season — will likely be his last this year.

The Bengals tight end left the field on a cart with his right ankle in an air cast 40 seconds following a 2-yard gain where his right leg contorted in a gruesome way that's unwatchable on replay.

"This was the hardest I’ve worked to put my self in a position to help this team succeed and having this happen crushes me," Eifert posted after the game on Twitter. "If I’ve learned anything from before, it’s not a time for self pity and negativity. The only thing to do is move forward with optimism. 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. Thanks to everyone who has sent prayers and well wishes my way!"

De'Vondre Campbell, the Falcons linebacker who made the tackle, offered his condolences directly to Eifert on Twitter.

"I never take the field with thoughts of intentionally hurting anyone I just try to do my job to the best of my ability," Campbell said. "Praying for a speedy recovery..."

Eifert was in tears and put his head in his hands as the cart entered the tunnel near the Cincinnati locker room.

"That's one of my guys, man," Bernard said. "He's always there for everybody. It's just one of those situations where you wish you could do something. There's really not much a teammate or friend can do for him right now except be there for him. It just sucks."

The Bengals were out of sorts in the short term following the injury. The next two plays saw Dalton sacked for a loss of 10 yards and the Falcons block a punt.

"I think it took a lot of time to realize one of our guys was down and that we had to rally around him," said Uzomah, the Bengals third-year tight end. "I think we were kind of just like, 'this sucks.' You don't want to see that happen to anybody."

Dalton said he spoke to his teammates about not letting the immediate past interfere with the next play.

"Obviously it sucks for (Eifert), but you can't let that get to us," Dalton said. "We've got to keep going. ... It's just one of those things. Once you get back in the flow of the game you're not thinking about it."

In response, Ross said the Bengals sideline used the phrase, "for 85," a nod to Eifert's number, multiple times. Eifert's injury became a rallying point of sorts, as the Bengals scored with six seconds left in the fourth quarter for the win.

"We lifted him up the way we responded," Ross said.

Eifert has had the worst run of injuries imaginable.

He had a stinger his rookie season in 2013, dislocated his elbow eight plays into the '14 season, hurt his ankle in the '15 Pro Bowl and has had multiple back surgeries.

Since the beginning of the '14 season, the sixth-year player from Notre Dame has played 27 of a possible 67 games.

"I know how hard he's worked to come back on the field and how hard he considers the work," Uzomah said. "He's in there early, getting rehab and making sure everything is right and comes out and practices hard."

Until Sunday, that had paid off.

Eifert played 114 snaps through the Bengals first three games with eight of his 11 receptions resulting in a first down. His production increased along with his reps. Eifert had a season-high six catches for 74 yards last week at Carolina. He finished Sunday with 38 yards before the injury.

“I feel really good,” Eifert said earlier this week. “The last two seasons even though I was cleared to play and everything, I didn’t feel like I had the same explosiveness and the types of movements and things I’m used to doing. I feel really good and I’m just trying to keep it that way throughout the year.”

Eifert didn't immediately go to the hospital Sunday. Instead, he was in the training room when his victorious teammates returned to the locker room. Bernard wiped tears from his face as he said he would be praying. Ross said he and others spoke to Eifert, who was happy about the win.

"I just told him I love him," Ross said. "He's going to be come back. he always does."