Joseph Ossai became a well-known name in the AFC Championship Game — but not for a good reason. The Cincinnati Bengals' rookie defensive lineman was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty on Patrick Mahomes that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a favorable position to make it to the Super Bowl.
Ossai was visibly upset on the sidelines after the penalty, where he pushed Mahomes late as he pursued the superstar quarterback on a scramble. The 15-yard infraction put the Chiefs in field-goal range Harrison Butker delivered a 45-yard kick in the 23-20 KC victory. Ossai knows he made a mistake and vowed to be better, according to Ben Baby of ESPN.
“I gotta learn from experience,” Joseph Ossai said after the game, via ESPN. “I gotta know not to get close to that quarterback when he's close to that sideline if it's anything that could possibly cause a penalty in a dire situation like that. I gotta do better…I was just in full chase mode,” Ossai said. “I was trying to push him, maybe get him going backwards because I knew he was going for that sideline. I was trying to make him go backwards, get that clock running.”
Ossai's play was far from the sole reason the Bengals lost but it will unfortunately be remembered as such by many fans. Cincinnati will now head into the offseason looking to retool around Joe Burrow. Although the loss stings, the team's efforts show that it is undoubtedly in the upper class of the NFL.
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