The Cincinnati Bengals fell just short of a second-straight Super Bowl appearance after losing to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening.
One of their players, Joseph Ossai, made a critical mistake in the closing seconds of the game, which has been since credited as the play that allowed the Chiefs to win the game.
After the game, Ossai was seen crying on the bench, as well as in the locker room, after his unfortunate mistake.
"It wasn't all on him. I just know he needed somebody to be there for him."#Bengals DL @BJHill5 on standing by his teammate @joseph_ossai following the AFC Championship and why he knows Ossai has a bright future for Cincinnati @JadeMcCarthy | #RuleTheJungle pic.twitter.com/XJapXY8RKf
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) January 31, 2023
The mistake in question was when Ossai pushed Patrick Mahomes when he was out of bounds, resulting in a 15-yard penalty, putting the Chiefs in a prime position to kick the game-winning field goal.
Everyone makes mistakes, as Ossai’s teammate B.J. Hill highlights.
Most of the NFL media was attacking Ossai for this error.
Yes, this almost certainly cost the Bengals the game, but the fact that Ossai had played so well up to that point was the reason that the game was tied in the first place.
Ultimately, Ossai is a fantastic young player, and he will likely have a long and successful career in the NFL.
He is not likely to soon forget what happened in this game.
The good news for the Bengals is that their team still looks as strong as ever before, and will look to contend in 2023 and beyond.
After all, they have been in the AFC Championship in back-to-back seasons, and Joe Burrow’s talent and swagger aren’t going anywhere.
For Ossai’s sake, we are pulling for him moving forward so that he can focus on the future rather than the past.
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