Bengals’ Joseph Ossai faces the music for his costly error that gave Chiefs AFC win

Joseph Ossai of the Cincinnati Bengals accepted responsibility for his game-changing mistake late in their 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Chiefs were looking for a potential game-winning field goal in the AFC championship game when Ossai, a sophomore pro, chased Patrick Mahomes.

Both were running at full speed when the All-Pro quarterback reached the Cincinnati sideline, where Ossai pushed from behind and sent Mahomes to the ground.

Joseph Ossai of the Cincinnati Bengals has accepted responsibility for his costly mistake in the Chiefs’ loss

The 15-yard penalty for a late hit was enough to give Harrison Butker a field goal chance, and the Chiefs’ big-legged kicker barely got the ball over the crossbar, leading Kansas City to superbowl.

“I was in full chase mode and pushing to maybe get him back, because I knew he was going to the sideline, so get him back and make the clock tick,” Ossai, who broke down in tears after the game. saying.

I didn’t know how out of bounds we were.

“I have to learn from experience,” Ossai said after breaking down in tears after the loss.

To make matters worse, Ossai lay in a heap on the touchline as Mahomes trotted back onto the field. He wound up injuring his right knee on the play, and is due to have an MRI on Monday to determine the nature and extent of the injury.

“I just have to learn from experience and know not to approach that quarterback when he’s near the sideline,” said Ossai, who had played well until the game’s final minute and then bravely answered questions from journalists. .

“If there’s anything that could cause a penalty in a situation as serious as that,” he said, “I’ve got to do better.”

Not everyone on the Cincinnati bench was behind him after Ossai’s mistake. Television cameras caught linebacker Germaine Pratt swearing why she was near Mahomes at that point in the game.

But most of the Bengals were ready to stand by Ossai’s side, even declining questions they didn’t like in the postgame locker room.

“There were a lot of other plays that could have turned the tide of that game in a second, so that’s not the only one,” Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow said.

‘This is emotional. We worked very hard to get here,” added Bengals coach Zac Taylor.

‘Any play that people feel was left out, you’re going to take it very badly. We want kids like that, for whom this means a lot. They care about it, they care about their teammates. Joseph comes to work every day; he loves being a part of this team.’