Bengals’ Joseph Ossai was beside himself after season-ending late hit and NFL fans showered him with love
Mistakes happen, even to professional football players. Unfortunately for Joseph Ossai, he’s going to have to live with this one for a very long offseason.
In the AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs bested the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 after a late field goal from Harrison Butker sealed the deal for the home team. The reason the Chiefs were able to get into field goal range so late in the game? An unnecessary roughness penalty was called on Ossai for hitting Patrick Mahomes out of bounds, giving the Chiefs an easy 45-yard field goal thanks to the extra yardage.
It was a very bad penalty to take and one that ended up costing the Bengals dearly.
A POTENTIALLY SEASON-ENDING, AFC TITLE-DECIDING LATE HIT, JOSEPH OSSAI WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? pic.twitter.com/Qvq6nsTbjj
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 30, 2023
Ossai was visibly shaken on the sidelines after the game and was seen being comforted by teammates as the reality of the moment sunk in on him.
Joseph Ossai is SHOOK #CINatKC pic.twitter.com/bu9Kahmez6
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) January 30, 2023
Yes, the penalty was a real bad one by Ossai. Even though the Chiefs won the game off the extra yardage they earned from the penalty, the Bengals had numerous chances to put the game away themselves but didn’t. While a tough play, the loss isn’t all on Ossai’s hands here.
NFL fans showered Ossai with all of the love after his tough penalty led to the Bengals’ playoff exit.