Joseph Ossai knows he must learn from a painful experience after he gifted the Kansas City Chiefs the chance to seal their place in Super Bowl LVII.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Ossai was hit with a roughing-the-passer penalty for a shove on Patrick Mahomes after the quarterback had run out of bounds right at the end of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.
A 15-yard penalty allowed Harrison Butker to convert a decisive 45-yard game-goal to snatch a 23-20 win and set up a showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium, Arizona on February 12.
The 22-year-old Ossai was emotional after such a costly late penalty in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game and knows he must be more disciplined going forward.
“I gotta learn from experience,” Ossai said. “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.”
He added: “I was just in full chase mode. 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. I haven’t seen it yet. I don’t know how far out of bounds we were.”
We will be back. pic.twitter.com/WppALPWibK
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) January 30, 2023
DJ Reader backed Ossai to use the hurt he is feeling now to drive him on to better things.
Reader said: “That play is going to find him again. Those roles are going to find him again as a player, and just be ready for it.”
He added: “This pain is going to drive him to be great. He’ll get there.”
