Bengals Safety Reveals Malik Willis Has a Tell on Pass Plays Ahead of Week 5 Game vs. Dolphins

The Cincinnati Bengals apparently had a tell on Miami Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis going into Sunday's game, even if it's no longer a secret.

Jordan Battle revealed it on Thursday.

"He has a little slight little tap before every throw though, so I feel like we could use that as a key to break on the ball," Battle told reporters. "He likes to tap the ball before he throws it, or he takes his hand off, and that gives the read the break. He's obviously dangerous with his feet. 

"We know we got to be alert for that. Third and longs, they will run quarterback draws, and in the passing game, he will extend plays. So we got to be good downfield. DBs are plastering, so we got to be alert for that. He will take chances. We just got to be on, be alert on guys where they line up."

And then he delivered on his words during the first half of Sunday's game with two interceptions:

After the Dolphins' 31-24 loss, Willis downplayed Battle's comments:

Bengals coaches likely weren't thrilled Battle revealed this information publicly before the game and gave Willis some time to adjust the tell prior to taking the field. But it doesn't seem like the quarterback adjusted enough to avoid the critical mistakes.

It also isn't a stretch to wonder if the tell is one reason Willis has struggled this season.

He completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 712 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the first four games, which were all losses for the Dolphins.

▶️ Full Dolphins-Vikings Recap

06:00

The last game was the ugliest for the offense, as Miami managed just 10 points with Willis throwing for 85 yards in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

And things weren't much better in the early going against a Bengals defense that entered play an ugly 26th in the league in passing yards allowed per game this season.