MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Battle came away with some important details during last week's film study of the Miami Dolphins.
The Bengals safety said Thursday he had a tell on Malik Willis that he hoped would lead to success against the Dolphins quarterback.
"He has a little slight little tap before every throw," Battle said this week, “so I feel like we could use that as a key to break on the ball. He likes to tap the ball before he throws it,
or he takes his hand off.”
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley was asked about Battle's viral comments on Friday and indicated he wasn't worried, saying it's a common practice for quarterbacks before throwing the ball.
Still, Battle's studies apparently worked. He intercepted Willis on back-to-back drives in the second quarter of Sunday's 31-24 win over the Dolphins to help Cincinnati (3-2) snap a two-game skid.
“You study players and see things,” Battle said after the win, downplaying his previous comments, "but it’s just trusting the game plan and putting me in position to make plays.”
Battle intercepted Willis after the quarterback's arm was hit making a throw early in the second and jumped in front of a pass meant for receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. on the next drive. Willis didn't appear to tap the ball before either play and said afterward that the second interception was the result of a scramble-drill mishap in which two of his receivers started running in the same direction.
“That’s not a tell. He got tipped balls,” Willis said of Battle. “I mean, good for him. That’s what defenses are supposed to do at this level. They’re a great defense, and they have a great front. We talked about that all week. They batted a ball down and the second one is a scramble drill mishap. That has nothing to do with tells. I don’t think I patted either one of those. I don’t think those are correlated.”
Battle and the Bengals defense were able to take advantage of an uneven day from Willis throwing the ball. The Dolphins quarterback who signed a three-year, $67.5 million deal this offseason started the game 0-for-4 passing and had just five completions in the first half.
Willis finished 15 of 27 with 137 yards. He had a touchdown pass and rushed for a score and lost a fumble at the Dolphins 9 with Miami trailing by 10 points in the fourth.
Battle had seven tackles and two pass breakups for the Bengals. The South Florida native said he gave the first ball he intercepted to his mom and the second one to his dad.
“I have to think back to who got me here," Battle said. “A great supporting cast. They come to almost every game. I thank them for that.”
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