Bengals Safety Confident Ahead of Training Camp 'This Is The Year To Do It'

The Cincinnati Bengals have pushed through a dizzying last three seasons.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) runs with the ball against Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) during the second half at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

It is easy to lose track of time. 

For the Cincinnati Bengals, it has been three full seasons since the AFC North side has reached the NFL playoffs. Since then, the Bengals have compiled a 24-27 record over those three years.

The first two misses came from costly mistakes, with the 2025 season being filled with many more blemishes than anyone would be proud to admit. 

While it's easy as a fan to get caught up in the sorrows of another postseason-less campaign, try being safety Jordan Battle. 

Battle got to experience the height of collegiate athletics with the Alabama Crimson Tide, where from 2019-2022, Battle played through a 48-6 record that involved two College Football Playoff Championship experiences, one national title win, with a statline that includes 251 total tackles, six interceptions, 16 passes defended and multiple call-ups to the AP All-American teams. 

However, since being selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Battle has been consigned to regular-season football only. Something that annoys him, to this day, he revealed on the “Bengals Booth Podcast.”

“This is the Year To Do It”

Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) checks with secondary coach Jordan Kovacs in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I obviously have to play in the playoff game,” Battle said. "And I feel like this is the year to do it. Then not just one playoff game. I want to play in a divisional, the conference and then Super Bowl as well.” 

The Bengals have taken big steps this offseason in ending their playoff drought. Not only did Cincinnati recruit well through their chopped and changed draft picks, but their acquisitions of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, safeties Kyle Dugger and Bryan Cook, along with corner Ja’Sir Taylor, defensive tackle Jonathtan Allen and edge Boye Mafe, all prove that the time for a playoff push is fast approaching.

“So, those are big goals for me. Obviously, getting to the playoffs is first, and then finish from there,” he said.

So far, through Battle’s three seasons in the league, the rangy safety has notched 140 tackles, seven tackles for loss, six interceptions and 14 passes defended. Last season, Battle earned a  61.5 overall PFF defensive grade, measuring 63rd among 98 qualified safeties.

In the two years that current head coach Zac Taylor has been able to get the Bengals to the playoffs, things have gone superbly, with a narrow Super Bowl LVI loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021, only to be followed by an equally disheartening AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs the following season.