'Steak on Jordan' - Bengals Coach, Players React to Jordan Battle Fumble Before Crossing Goal Line

Jay Morrison | 4 Hours Ago

Dec 15, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Cincinnati Bengals safety Geno Stone (22) hurdles over safety Jordan Battle (27) for a pick six against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – When New York Jets rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley intentionally dropped the football before crossing the goal line in a Thursday night game in Week 9, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor turned it into a presentation during a team meeting the following morning.

Sometimes even most the obvious teaching points need reinforcement to make sure it doesn’t happen to your team.

Well, it still happened.

Sort of.

Bengals safety Jordan Battle didn’t intentionally drop the ball before crossing the goal line, but his ill-timed decision to switch the ball from his left to his right hand resulted in him losing control of the ball inside the 1-yard line.

A 61-yard fumble return for touchdown turned into a touchback and a fresh set of downs for the Titans.

Jordan Battle NOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/lNKCtyx12v

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 15, 2024

 “I wasn’t throwing the ball down,” Battle said. “I was just trying to switch it to my other hand, and it fell. It slipped out of my glove.”

What was strange was that Battle carried the ball in his right hand, closer to the defense, for 60 yards before trying to switch it to his outside hand inches from the goal line.

Battle said he was relieved that the game wasn’t that close when it happened – Cincinnati led 31-14 – and that the Bengals ended up winning 37-27.

“I can celebrate now, but it could have cost us,” Battle said. “I was very upset with myself.

“As a guy they trust, obviously they know I'm from a couple of programs where I was a leader,” he added. “I took ownership for it. Hold myself accountable. It won't happen again.”

Here is what head coach Zac Taylor and some of Battle’s teammates said about the play:

“It’s something we address weekly,” Taylor said. “We show these clips, and it's not something we can ever have happen. It's within our control. You go 2 yards across the goal line, letters and logos, it’s very simple. And then you can do whatever you want to do.

“I appreciate that the energy he plays with and a lot of the plays he made, that's a situation obviously we can't have, and we expect our team to do better with that going forward.”

Fellow safety Geno Stone was supportive.

“JB's good,” he said. “He knows what he did. It's a lesson to learn from. He's young. We all got on him at first to make sure he finishes. It's something that we always talk about, we watch on film of other people doing it. He's got to learn from it. That's all it is.”

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase took a lighter-hearted tact.

“I told him he owes me lunch,” Chase said. “Steak on Jordan.”

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