KANSAS CITY MO. — After the Cincinnati Bengals' devastating loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship, linebacker Germaine Pratt was caught on video screaming about a late-game play involving defensive end Joseph Ossai.
On the last drive of the AFC Championship, Ossai was called for unnecessary roughness when he pushed Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes after he had run out-of-bounds. The penalty advanced the Chiefs 15 yards, setting up the game-winning field goal.
Pratt can be heard in the video, posted by Columbus-based sports journalist Katie Kapusta, yelling "Why the f*** you touch the quarterback!"
Jermaine Pratt visibly upset with the ending of that game- particularly with the roughing the passer on Joseph Ossai that got the Chiefs in comfortable FG range to win the game #bengals #AFCChampionshipGame pic.twitter.com/02JR77QgG7
— Katie Kapusta (@KatieKapustaTV) January 30, 2023
Pratt responded with a comment on the video that was reposted by Bleacher Report.
"I have real feelings sometimes they are raw," Pratt said. "I know what type of teammate I am. And what type of man I am. Trust me, no love lost I'm hurt."
According to Pratt, the comment was made in the heat of the moment, and he criticized the video's circulation saying that "people will post anything on social media for likes and views."
Ossai was visibly upset while answering questions from the media shortly after the game ended in the Bengals locker room. In a video posted by Cleveland sports journalist Michael Niziolek, Ossai said he has to do better.
"I gotta learn from experience," Ossai said. "I gotta know not to get close to that quarterback when he's 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."
Here's what #Bengals defender B.J. Hill said later about Ossai's penalty: "That play right there, he was playing his butt off. That's how he practices, that's how he plays. I don't got no hard feelings about that play at all, I know what his intentions were, just to play hard." https://t.co/DyrJsGidpQ
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) January 30, 2023
Multiple teammates including defensive tackle BJ Hill came to Ossai's defense.
"That play right there, he was playing his butt off," Hill said while standing next to Ossai in the locker room shortly after the game ended. "I don't got no hard feelings about that play at all, I know what his intentions were, just to play hard."
Several other teammates came to console Ossai on the sidelines after the game ended.
It's heartbreaking to see Joseph Ossai break down following the Bengals loss
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 30, 2023
But it's heartwarming to see his team lift him back up pic.twitter.com/4BszT5Qzdq
Pratt in the locker room on Monday admitted he was "wrong" for his outburst, and that he was caught up in the moment.
"I wasn't a great teammate in that moment," Pratt said. "But that don't define me as a man."
Coach Zac Tayor made it clear that no one play determined the team's downfall.
"It didn't come down to that," Taylor said in a press conference after the game. There's a lot of other plays we just missed out on."
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