Bengals’ Jordan Battle intercepts Malik Willis twice after finding tell in Miami QB’s throwing mechanics

The Cincinnati Bengals' defense should take a collective bow after identifying and exploiting an advantage over the Miami Dolphins in Week 5.

Prior to the game, safety Jordan Battle revealed that the Bengals noticed a subtle tell in Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis' throwing mechanics that they felt they could use to time their pass defense. They seemingly did just that when battle intercepted Willis twice in the first half of their meeting on Sunday.

"He has a slight little tap before every throw, so I feel like we could use that as a key to break on the ball," Battle said after the Bengals' Thursday practice. "He likes to tap the ball before he throws it, or he takes his hand off, and that gives the read to break."

How much of a role the tell played in Battle's two takeaways is uncertain. Perhaps it was a coincidence that he was the one to both point it out publicly and haul in a pair of interceptions, or maybe he and his teammates were in the right place at the right time after spotting it.

The first interception was primarily a product of the pass rush, not Battle's position group in…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/