The Bengals have reached the point where Jordan Battle can’t keep getting the benefit of the doubt at safety.
After Week 4, the case for keeping him in the starting lineup is getting harder to make by the snap. Battle was a problem again in Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and this one felt especially ugly because Cincinnati needed someone in the secondary to hold up while Bryan Cook was out.
Instead, Battle was the weak link.
Cincinnati entered the game with only three safeties available, which is part of why Battle had to stay on the field. Cook’s ankle injury left the Bengals short on options, and that shortage mattered.
Jules, who is usually known more for special teams work, nearly doubled Yeast’s snap count, 40 to 21, and did not look out of place in the defensive backfield. He also brings something Battle has been missing: tackling.
Battle, meanwhile, missed one of the most glaring stops of the afternoon. On 3rd and 18, with the Bengals on the verge of forcing another three-and-out, Jacksonville tight end Brenton Strange was lined up well short of the sticks.
Battle whiffed on the tackle so badly that it looked almost absurd. It was that kind of day.
There was another rough clip later, this time on Chris Rodriguez’s touchdown run. From the broadcast angle, it’s not easy to see everything, but Battle’s number 27 is the one to watch. The angle was poor, and the effort looked worse.
This hasn’t come out of nowhere, either. Battle has had tackling issues for years, and those problems didn’t go away on Sunday.
Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden has to be frustrated watching the film pile up every week. Battle’s play is not just a one-game hiccup.
That makes this a painful development for Cincinnati, because Battle was better in coverage last season and looked like he was heading in the right direction. Instead, he has regressed, and he’s doing it in a contract year.
If Cook is healthy enough to return next week, the Bengals have a clear opening to make a change in Week 5 against the winless Miami Dolphins. Even if Cook can’t go, Yeast looks like the safer option right now. Battle has simply given the Bengals too little to keep ignoring the issue.
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