Ja'Marr Chase lands on an appropriate punishment for young Bengals player's mistake vs Titans
Fumbling the ball right before crossing the goal line may never go away as an NFL folly, and it happened to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.Second-year safety Jordan Battle recovered a Tennessee Titans fumble from about 61 yards away from the end zone. He had never scored an NFL touchdown before, and the only person […]
Fumbling the ball right before crossing the goal line may never go away as an NFL folly, and it happened to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Second-year safety Jordan Battle recovered a Tennessee Titans fumble from about 61 yards away from the end zone. He had never scored an NFL touchdown before, and the only person who could stop him was himself when he attempted to switch the ball from his right to left hand. The ball went out the back of the end zone for a Titans touchback.
Battle's error ultimately didn't cost them the game, but it may cost him a pricey meal for Ja'Marr Chase.
Ja'Marr Chase commands Jordan Battle to pay up for his mistake
Chase had himself another productive outing in Nashville with nine receptions for 94 yards. Next to Joe Burrow, he's backed up everything he's said and more this season. When asked about Battle's miscue, Chase didn't reprimand the young defender, but did hit him with swift punishment.
“I told him he’s paying for my lunch later," Chase said of his conversation with Battle. “We can’t have that. He ran 60 yards to fumble the ball. I ain’t going to kill him for that. It’s a lesson that he learned."
Battle clarified he wasn't showboating, rather mistakenly trying to put the ball in his other hand at the wrong time, but the message from Chase is clear regardless. Get in the end zone first and foremost if you aren't falling on the ball out the gate.
"If you on defense, just run it in and then showboat after," Chase said, who liked the idea of getting Battle to buy him a steak.
"Steak on Jordan," Chase said with a smile.
It's mistakes like these that have cost the Bengals more times than they'd care to admit this season. Sunday's win was a wild change of pace for the defense as a whole, but the team will be counting on Battle for this final push towards the playoffs. That play needs to become six points against the good teams left on their schedule.
Once Battle gets the bill from Chase, we can assume he'll be locked in for next time.
Bengals Week 15 Snap Counts vs Titans: Joe Burrow’s protection unit sees even more change
Another new starting offensive line for Cincinnati was debuted in Nashville.
