Something strange was in the air on Thanksgiving when the Cincinnati Bengals hit the road to take on the Baltimore Ravens. Divisional matchups can be weird on familiarity factor alone, but this was hitting different on the holiday.
A bizarre start — and no, I'm not referring to how the team was held up in transit — saw the Bengals' offense look good in spurts but clunky once it hit the red zone. Baltimore had the home crowd in the frenzy after an opening TD drive. Then, the plot thickened.
After Cincinnati failed to convert any of its three red zone trips into touchdowns in as many possessions, the Ravens got an explosive pass from Lamar Jackson to Isaiah Likely. It looked like a 13-7 lead was, well, likely for the hosts, as Likely raced toward the end zone.
Jordan Battle had other plans. He swung the entire game in the process — and showed the type of no-quit mentality most of the Bengals defense hasn't shown all season.
What a play by Jordan Battle 👏👏
— NFL Australia & NZ (@NFLAUNZ) November 28, 2025
📺: CINvsBAL on @ESPNAusNZ @NFLonDAZN pic.twitter.com/2m0OEpIse0
Jordan Battle confirms status as Bengals cornerstone with ultimate Thanksgiving hustle play
Punching the ball out of Likely's grasp just before he crossed the goal line showed that Jordan Battle wants it. I gotta be honest, I questioned whether that was the case with him or the Bengals' entire defense throughout their historically awful 2025 season.
Who knew that the Thanksgiving 32-14 annihilation of the Ravens was something Cincinnati was capable of?
Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden dialed up blitzes at a relentless rate. Jackson is a two-time league MVP who looked hesitant and frustrated all night. The Cincinnati defense swarmed him and forced five turnovers after generating only seven takeaways all season before the holiday.
My contention is, I'm not sure all that momentum would've sustained if not for Battle's extraordinary hustle.
Quite a far cry from this gaffe by Battle and Geno Stone in Week 9, when they let Bears tight end Colston Loveland loose for a long, game-winning TD in Week 9:
COLSTON LOVELAND ARE YOU KIDDING?
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 2, 2025
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/OMOzjsl6vC
I have nary a clue what's gotten into this Bengals defense over the last two games. They played well against the Patriots, too. Whatever it is, Jordan Battle's about-face from the play above to the play that is the subject of this article symbolizes the whole unit's dramatic turnaround.
Every Bengals defender is auditioning for his job at this point. I've been less bullish on Battle the whole way, but my FanSided colleague, Ryan Fowler, wrote a piece this week about how Battle is one of the few bright spots on Cincinnati's defense. Mr. Fowler nailed that take.
Lockdown corner DJ Turner is the only asset I viewed as someone the Bengals should build around. "Fire the rest of the defensive roster!" was my prior mentality.
Now I think I'm ready to give Jordan Battle the benefit of the doubt. Forgive my skepticism about recent Cincinnati draft picks, but the 2023 third-rounder is proving himself. Battle struggled to see the field when Lou Anarumo was calling the shots on defense. The more reps he gets, the more he shows that he could very well be a long-term starter on the back end.
Barring some sudden regression in his current trajectory, I'm now confident Battle has secured his status as a second-contract player in Cincinnati. That's quite a good feeling for Who Dey Heads everywhere.