National Football League

Zac Taylor, Bengals defend Joseph Ossai after costly penalty

Published Jan. 30, 2023 12:00 a.m. ET

A self-inflicted error by defensive end Joseph Ossai might have cost the Cincinnati Bengals an AFC title and a trip to the Super Bowl, but their coach doesn't want to pin their 23-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on one play.

Zac Taylor deflected blame off Ossai, who hit Patrick Mahomes after he ran out of bounds with eight seconds left, drawing a 15-yard penalty to set the Chiefs up for the 45-yard field goal that won the game.

"We’re not going to make it about one play," Taylor told CBS Sports. "There were plenty of plays that we left out on the field today that could have put us in a better position.

"It’s tough. One play. Didn’t come down to that."

Taylor also showed respect for Ossai's passion for the game.

"Joseph comes to work every day, man," Taylor said. "He loves ball. He loves being a part of this team. It didn't come down to that play."

Ossai was clearly upset with himself after the play was over, sitting on the bench with his head down well after Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker made the game-winning field goal. While linebacker Jermaine Pratt was heard yelling "Why the [expletive] did he touch the quarterback?" as the Bengals walked to the locker room, many of Ossai's teammates came to his side following the tough play.

Defensive end Cam Sample sat next to Ossai on the bench after the game ended to console him, as did other members of the Bengals.

As Ossai answered questions from the media at his locker, defensive tackle B.J. Hill stood by his side.

"It means the world to me," Ossai said of the support he received from his teammates. "These guys mean a lot to me. We come in every day and we work hard for each other — to know that they have my back is giving me right now, for sure."

Rookie corner Cam Taylor-Britt also offered a defense of Ossai.

"It’s not on him," Taylor-Britt said. "When you’re going that fast, you just don’t know. We got a lot of crazy calls at the end."

Joe Burrow de-emphasized the magnitude of Ossai's mistake.

"There were a lot of plays other than that that could've turned the tide in the game and won us the game, so it wasn't the only one," Burrow said.

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