\u201cThis is the Year To Do It\u201d![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/01kvzx2gavbgzq65hnsw.jpg\" "\\"The")
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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<\/p>\n
\u201cI obviously have to play in the playoff game,\u201d Battle said.<\/a>\u00a0“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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, but their acquisitions of defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II, safeties Kyle Dugger and Bryan Cook, along with corner Ja\u2019Sir Taylor, defensive tackle Jonathtan Allen and edge Boye Mafe, all prove that the time for a playoff push is fast approaching.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, those are big goals for me. Obviously, getting to the playoffs is first, and then finish from there,\u201d he said.<\/a><\/p>\n So far, through Battle\u2019s 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\u00a0 61.5 overall PFF defensive grade<\/a>, measuring 63rd among 98 qualified safeties.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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