Zac Taylor Says Bengals' Loss to Chiefs Didn't Come Down to Joseph Ossai Penalty

The Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium, and while some have blamed defensive end Joseph Ossai for costing the team the game, head coach Zac Taylor said otherwise.

"It's tough," Taylor told reporters after the loss. "One play. Didn't come down to that."

Ossai took a late unnecessary roughness penalty when he knocked down Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the Cincinnati 42-yard line while he was already out of bounds with just 17 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

The 15-yard penalty put the Chiefs into field-goal range, and Harrison Butker drilled a 45-yard kick to secure the win for Kansas City.

It was a tough break for Ossai, who had a solid game otherwise with five tackles, one tackle for a loss, one pass breakup and two quarterback hits.

Like Taylor, the 22-year-old's teammates were quick to defend him following the loss.

"It's not on him. When you're going that fast you just don't know," cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt told reporters after the loss. "We got a lot of crazy calls at the end."

Defensive tackle B.J. Hill added: "He played his butt off the whole game."

An emotional Ossai reciprocated the support while speaking with reporters following the loss, saying the love they have shown him in the aftermath "means the world" to him.

"To know the team has my back is giving me peace right now," he added.

It should also be noted that officials may have missed a holding penalty on the same play that Ossai was flagged for unnecessary roughness on Mahomes.

Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown appeared to be holding Bengals edge-rusher Trey Hendrickson around the neck as the play materialized. Had that penalty been called, the outcome of the game could have been vastly different.

Regardless, there was a lot that went wrong for the Bengals on Sunday night, and Ossai's penalty certainly wasn't the only reason they lost. However, that's likely not going to lessen the blow of the penalty that helped set up the Chiefs for the eventual game-winner.

Luckily for Ossai, he has plenty of football ahead of him in the NFL. The Texas product was selected by the Bengals in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, and the 2022 campaign was essentially his rookie season after he missed the entirety of 2021 with a meniscus injury.

Considering the Bengals have reached the AFC Championship Game in each of the last two seasons, it may not be long before we see them back on the biggest stage.