KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Standing in front of his cleaning locker at Arrowhead Stadium, while Bengals teammate BJ Hill stood by for support, Joseph Ossai lamented a mistake Sunday night that could easily haunt the defense for the rest of his career.
The Kansas City Chiefs were on their way to a possible game-winning field goal in the AFC championship game when Ossai, a second-year pro, gave chase to Patrick Mahomes. Both ran at full speed as the All-Pro quarterback reached the Cincinnati sideline, where Ossai delivered a shove from behind the piloted Mahomes who fell sprawling to the ground.
Penalty flags flew and Ossai knew immediately what he had done.
The 15-yard penalty for a late hit was enough to give Harrison Butker a field goal opportunity, and the Chiefs’ long-legged kicker could barely get the ball over the crossbar, giving Kansas City a 23–20 victory and a berth in the Super Bowl.
“I was just in chase mode pushing to maybe make him back up because I knew he was going to the sideline, so force him to back up and run that clock,” said Ossai. “I didn’t know how far out of bounds we were.”
It was enough that the flag was indisputable.
To make matters worse, Ossai lay in a heap on the sidelines as Mahomes trotted back to the field. He injured his right knee during the play and an MRI examination must take place on Monday to determine the nature and extent of the injury.
“I just have to learn from experience and know not to get near that quarterback when he’s close to the sideline,” said Ossai, who had played well until the last minute of the game, bravely asking reporters afterwards answered. .
“If there is anything that could possibly cause a penalty in this dire situation,” he said, “I have to do better.”
Not everyone on the Cincinnati sidelines supported Ossai’s mistake. TV cameras caught linebacker Germaine Pratt asking with an expletive why he was around Mahomes at the time. But most of the Bengals were ready to be by Ossai’s side and even toss out questions they didn’t like in the locker room after the game.
“There were a lot of other plays that could have turned the tide in that game in one second, so that’s not the only one,” said Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who was sacked five times and threw a pair of interceptions in the loss.
“This is emotional. We worked really hard to get here,” added Bengals coach Zac Taylor. “Any game that people feel has been left out there, you’re going to have a hard time. We want those kinds of guys, which this means a lot to. They care, care about their teammates. Joseph comes to work every day; he loves to be part of this team.”
Ossai’s career has been difficult so far. He was a third round pick of the Texas Bengals in 2021, but a meniscus injury in his second preseason game left him on injured reserve for the season. The Nigeria native returned this season and appeared in 16 games in the regular season, making just 17 tackles along with 3 1/2 sacks.
But by the way teammates gathered around him on Sunday, it was clear that his attitude and perseverance had won them over.
“We are one big family. It’s not fake. When the going gets tough, we support each other,” he said. “I’m just glad to have this group of guys around me, supporting me now because it’s hard. There are some guys in that room that I’m really thankful for, BJ is one of them. A lot of older ones. They’ve done a great job taking us under their wing.”
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