Bengals’ Joseph Ossai is reduced to tears after his late-hit penalty on Patrick Mahomes
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Bengals’ Joseph Ossai cries after his late penalty on Patrick Mahomes sets up Chiefs’ winning FG in AFC title game… but coach Zac Taylor refuses to pass the blame: ‘No I got to that’
Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai did not cost his team a Super Bowl berth with his penalty for a late hit on Patrick Mahomes, according to Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor.
“It’s tough,” Taylor said after Sunday’s season-ending loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. ‘One play. It didn’t come down to that.
On third-and-4 at the Bengals 47-yard line and with just 17 seconds left, Mahomes fended off the pressure and ran to the Bengals sideline, barely getting the first down before Ossai gave him a push from behind.
The penalty flags waved, the ball moving 15 yards closer for Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal, a 45-yard attempt that barely cleared the crossbar. Ossai was later seen crying on the sidelines as Mahomes celebrated his third place finish in the Super Bowl.
Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai (pictured) did not cost his team a Super Bowl berth with his penalty for a late hit on Patrick Mahomes, according to Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor.
Taylor refused to point fingers at Ossai after Sunday’s loss in the AFC Championship
Later, Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt was recorded venting his frustration on the way to the locker room.
‘Why the hell would you touch the quarterback?’ Pratt asked rhetorically at full volume.
Taylor and Ossai’s other teammates on the Bengals continued to support the 22-year-old Nigerian native, who was seen crying on the sideline after the loss. In particular, defensive tackle BJ Hill was seen standing over Ossai as he answered tough questions in the locker room afterward.
“It means a lot to me,” Ossai told reporters when asked about that endorsement. ‘These guys mean a lot to me. We come every day and work hard for each other. Knowing that I have my back is giving me peace right now.
Ossai, who grew up in suburban Houston and attended the University of Texas, was attacked on social media for the coup, he also received support on social media.
“Lift up Joseph Ossai,” Bills fan Danny O’Connor tweeted. “He played a great game and it was a bang bang play at the end.”
“I’ve got Joseph Ossai’s back,” added a Bengals fan. Uncompromisingly so.