CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese seemed to choose his words carefully on Monday when he was asked if the return of tight end Tyler Eifert would help an offense struggling to score touchdowns.

“If he doesn’t come back right away we are going to get better regardless,” Zampese said. “These will be the same guys doing it over and over again. We’ll be better with the group we have. And when we get him back in the mix he’ll add whatever he ends up adding to us.”

Eifert’s return seems more of a mystery than ever after a source told ESPN’s Bob Holtzman he suffered a back injury this week in addition to an ankle issue that has kept him out of the first four games. While a source told Holtzman that Eifert was “day-to-day,” it’s unrealistic to expect him back until he can go through a full practice first.

That’s why Zampese’s unspoken message was clear: Eifert can’t and shouldn’t be the savior to an offense ranked last in red zone effiency. The Bengals can’t rely on hope that his anticipated return will lead to an instant fix. They need to fix it now.

The Bengals have missed the reliability of Tyler Eifert, who had 11 red zone touchdowns last season. Mark Lyons/Icon Sportswire

Eifert was perhaps the biggest reason why the Bengals scored in the red zone 66 percent of the time last season, and why they’ve fallen to 31 percent now.

As I broke down in this piece on Tuesday, it’s become clear that he was the difference-maker in that area.

Just look at the staggering numbers: Over the past two seasons, Andy Dalton is 10-of-11 when targeting Eifert in the end zone, with no interceptions. He is just 5-of-30 with three interceptions when targeting all other players.

Without Eifert, who had 11 red zone touchdowns last season, it’s easy for defenses to key in on receiver A.J. Green. Green is clearly the best thing the Bengals have going on offense, but he can’t do it alone.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has said more than once that going into a game expecting Green to carry the offense is not a sound strategy.

“You can’t go into the game and rely on that,” Lewis said last Friday. “He plays a position that if the defense wants to keep you from touching the football, they can do that. We have to keep figuring out ways to keep them from doing that. Like a 3-point shooter, you want to give him his shots as much as he can.”

But they haven’t had many other options in the red zone. The Bengals need one of their other receivers to step up -- whether it’s veteran Brandon LaFell, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract in the offseason, or rookie second-round draft pick Tyler Boyd. LaFell has actually been the most targeted player in the end zone this season, and has zero receptions to show for it.

Next to Green’s four catches, it’s actually running back Giovani Bernard who has been most productive in the red zone, with four catches as well. Everyone else has combined for three catches.

The Bengals have tried to go to tight end C.J. Uzomah four times this season in the red zone, one of which was close to a touchdown catch but he was ruled out in the back of the end zone against the Steelers.

Sure, it’s a new cast of characters this season on offense, but if the Bengals can’t figure out a way to establish offensive chemistry, expect it to remain in a holding pattern until Eifert’s return. At that point it might be too late.