{"id":40689,"date":"2025-12-28T11:59:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40689"},"modified":"2025-12-28T11:59:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:59:13","slug":"ejected-with-alabama-safety-returns-to-triumph-with-bengals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40689","title":{"rendered":"Ejected with Alabama, safety returns to triumph with Bengals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<nav aria-label=\"articleLabel\">\n<ol id=\"articleLabel__list\"><\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<article id=\"arc-Z5XLUK4ARZB25A2O7GB4ZYS7PQ\" data-type=\"article\">\n<div>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/resizer\/v2\/32KBTMRC7BE7PAYJO6JN2KHA4A.jpg?auth=bd81a69184290468f40387787e1afc132d0ee6f55aac4a98e50c90a6d7440be3&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, (max-width: 800px) 80vw, 60vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.al.com\/resizer\/v2\/32KBTMRC7BE7PAYJO6JN2KHA4A.jpg?auth=bd81a69184290468f40387787e1afc132d0ee6f55aac4a98e50c90a6d7440be3&amp;width=500&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 500w, https:\/\/www.al.com\/resizer\/v2\/32KBTMRC7BE7PAYJO6JN2KHA4A.jpg?auth=bd81a69184290468f40387787e1afc132d0ee6f55aac4a98e50c90a6d7440be3&amp;width=800&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 800w, https:\/\/www.al.com\/resizer\/v2\/32KBTMRC7BE7PAYJO6JN2KHA4A.jpg?auth=bd81a69184290468f40387787e1afc132d0ee6f55aac4a98e50c90a6d7440be3&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 1280w\" alt=\"Ejected with Alabama, safety returns to triumph with Bengals\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"UIYXMCMQSFHOVIFK3AE7QK5FOU\">Safety Jordan Battle has come off the field early in both of his past two games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, but for widely different reasons.<\/p>\n<p id=\"HMNHJCJJ5REBDMHMZLRXYL52LM\">\u201cLast time I came out early for a bad reason,\u201d Jordan said. \u201cThis time, I came out early for a good reason. Last time, I got a targeting call in the national championship. This time, I got pulled out for a blowout.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"LZHYNPHXOVGERIHMKMINZH4MUI\">A targeting penalty on a hit by Battle on Ohio State tight end Jeremy Ruckert sent the safety to the sidelines during Alabama\u2019s 52-24 victory over the Buckeyes in the CFP national-championship game on Jan. 11, 2021.<\/p>\n<p id=\"F2IKNMG2A5CETPSEAM4JIC7OG4\">Last week, Battle left early with the Cincinnati Bengals cruising toward a 45-21 victory over the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n<p id=\"SXBKKMY4J5BSTCT3JTXQR5S5JE\">The Bengals haven\u2019t had the opportunity to pull their starters previously this season. With a 5-10 record, Cincinnati is playing out its 2025 schedule with home games against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and the Cleveland Browns on Jan. 4.<\/p>\n<p id=\"VGNDUBJDBJALRLH42FEM5LMDTE\">\u201cI know we don\u2019t have really much to play for at the end of the day when it comes to the playoffs,\u201d Battle said, \u201cbut we\u2019re all playing for our lives, playing for our pride, playing for the last name on the back of our jerseys, and I feel like we\u2019re doing a good job right now, so keep doing that. \u2026<\/p>\n<p id=\"GGA6MLTUVVHZJLQVT6K3V5CB6E\">\u201cI feel like guys are just trying to establish themselves in this league. At the end of the day, we\u2019re not playing for a playoff, but you\u2019re playing for a roster spot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"EWODDKSZCVCMRBJD2GJFW323TM\">Battle has established himself as Cincinnati\u2019s strong safety this season. After starting 13 games in his first two NFL seasons, Battle has started all 15 of the Bengals\u2019 contests in 2025.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ODHZ4M34CJE7NOJM55LATCFOPA\">Battle leads the NFL\u2019s defensive backs with 119 tackles entering Week 17 of the season. He\u2019s also tied for sixth in the league with four interceptions and has forced two fumbles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"WTEPCWFFMFHMJF26UT2IM4EKAY\">\u201cWhenever you have an offense like we do \u2013 high-powered \u2013 you want to get them the ball,\u201d Battle said, \u201cgive them more possessions than the other team because that gives them chances to put up 45 points a game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"RNESP6OS5NAE3NDPT42LGYXDOI\">Against the Dolphins last week, Battle tied for the team lead with five tackles on defense and had five tackles covering kickoffs on special teams.<\/p>\n<p id=\"3U5B4W6CLZA7JPUTL4R6UWDXYM\">Battle also caused Miami tight end Greg Dulcich to fumble, and Cincinnati recovered at the Dolphins 34-yard line. The Bengals turned the takeaway into a touchdown to take a 24-14 lead with 9:43 left in the third quarter.<\/p>\n<p id=\"M4KYLZNUN5FOLNB2XYYLAJOTSY\">\u201cHe has gotten better,\u201d Cincinnati safeties coach Jordan Kovacs said. \u201cHe has shown a lot of growth over the course of the season. He\u2019s becoming a pro. He\u2019s becoming a leader. He\u2019s a guy that\u2019s very accountable and is studying off the field. I\u2019m happy with his growth and development. He\u2019s obviously having a lot of production. \u2026<\/p>\n<p id=\"HHC6G6PDJFB6BEPF5YMEPWGOJ4\">\u201cHe\u2019s a physical player, especially when he\u2019s in the box. He has a very good understanding of his run fits. He arrives with violence. He doesn\u2019t shy away. He\u2019s physical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"Z5CWXXXGDFFLTOJ53OTZQ7AVH4\">The Bengals and Cardinals square off at noon CST Sunday at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<p id=\"ERT3F6YYG5BOFJ75JEQ3ESJIHI\">The Bengals will have Joe Burrow at quarterback for the fifth straight game. With Burrow in the lineup this season, Cincinnati has a 4-2 record. When a toe injury had Burrow on the bench, the Bengals went 1-8.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In his first full season as an NFL starter with Cincinnati, Jordan Battle leads the league&#8217;s defensive backs with 119 tackles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cincinnati-bengals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ejected with Alabama, safety returns to triumph with Bengals - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=40689\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ejected with Alabama, safety returns to triumph with Bengals - 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