WATCH: Bengals Defensive End Gets Emotional in Post-Game Interview After Game-Changing Late Hit Penalty
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai had an emotional meeting with the media after his costly penalty at the end of the AFC Championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
With 17 seconds left in regulation and the game tied at 20 on Sunday night, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled toward the sideline, and after he stepped out of bounds, Ossai hit him — which sent both men flying into the Bengals bench. Since the hit came after Mahomes had already stepped out of bounds, Ossai was called for unnecessary roughness, adding 15 yards to the end of the run. The penalty turned into a 45-yard field goal attempt, which Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker put through the uprights to send Kansas City to the Super Bowl.
CBS cameras showed Ossai crying on the bench — coming to terms with the ramifications of his penalty. After the game, Ossai and teammate BJ Hill met with reporters in the locker room. Hill immediately shut down a reporter’s question about the costly penalty.
“Dumb question, come on, he played his butt off the whole game, ask a different question,” Hill said.
Ossai, wiping away tears from his eyes, was asked what it meant to see his teammates rally around him.
“It was great to knowing I have the support of my teammates,” Ossai added. “I gotta know not to get close to that quarterback when he’s close to the sideline ’cause if it’s anything that can possibly cause a penalty. In a dire situation like that, I gotta do better.”
Ossai explained that he tried to push Mahomes backward to keep him in play to keep the clock running since the Chiefs did not have timeouts to use. One reporter wanted to know what Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said to him following the game.
“He just told me to keep my head up,” Ossai continued. “He told me there were a bunch of different plays we had to make. It didn’t come down to that one, and just gotta keep moving forward.”
The Bengals’ defensive end said his teammates were “super supportive” of him. One reporter wanted to know how tough it would be for Ossai to have the penalty on his mind for the entire offseason.
“How hard is that to kinda maybe to kinda now put all that weight on you as you go through this?” The reporter asked.
As Ossai began to answer, Hill interjected to stand up for his teammate.
“What? Come on, man. Ask another question, bro,” Hill added.
Ossai was asked about the Bengals’ culture and chemistry in the locker room and how that had helped him after the game.
“We’re one big family,” Ossai continued. “It’s not fake, and when the going gets tough, we don’t start pointing fingers. We lift each other up. I’m just happy I got these group of guys around me supporting me right now cause it’s hard.”
Watch above via @michaelniziolek on Twitter.
