Bengals' Joseph Ossai is reduced to tears after his late-hit penalty on Patrick Mahomes

Bengals’ Joseph Ossai is reduced to tears after his late-hit penalty on Patrick Mahomes sets up Chiefs’ game-winning FG in AFC title game… but coach Zac Taylor refuses to pass blame: ‘Didn’t come down 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. ‘One play. Didn’t come down to that.’

On third-and-4 at the Bengals 47 and just 17 seconds remaining, Mahomes eluded pressure and scrambled toward the Bengals sideline, barely picking up the first down before Ossai gave him a shove from behind.

The penalty flags flew, the ball was moved 15 yards closer for Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker’s game-winning field goal – a 45-yard attempt that barely made its way over the crossbar. Afterwards, Ossai was seen weeping on the sidelines as Mahomes celebrated his third Super Bowl berth. 

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

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 the finger at Ossai after Sunday's loss in the AFC Championship

Taylor refused to point the finger at Ossai after Sunday’s loss in the AFC Championship 

Afterwards, Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt was recorded venting his frustrating on the way to the locker room.

‘Why the f*** would you touch the quarterback?’ Pratt asked rhetorically at full volume.

Taylor and Ossai’s other Bengals teammates remained supportive of the 22-year-old Nigerian native, who was seen weeping on the sidelines after the loss. In particular, defensive tackle BJ Hill was seen standing alongside Ossai as he answered difficult questions in the locker room afterwards.

‘It means the world to me,’ Ossai told reporters when asked about that support. ‘These guys mean a lot to me. We come every day and we work hard for each other. To know that they have my back is giving me peace right now.’

Ossai, who was raised in the Houston suburbs and attended the University of Texas, was targeted on social media for the hit, also received support on social media.

‘Lift up Joseph Ossai,’ tweeted Bills fan Danny O’Connor. ‘He played a great game and it was a bang bang play at the end.’

‘I’ve got Joseph Ossai’s back,’ a Bengals fan added. ‘Unyieldingly so.’

source: dailymail.co.uk