Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt called out teammate Joseph Ossai as he walked to the locker room after a frustrating, last-second loss. Pratt was caught on video voicing his displeasure at Ossai’s unnecessary roughness penalty on Patrick Mahomes that moved the Chiefs into field goal range with eight seconds left.
Pratt tweeted Sunday night after seeing that the video had gone viral, explaining it was an emotional response to a painful moment.
Pratt apologized Monday.
“It’s a reaction that anybody has that’s a competitor. You know what was at stake in that moment,” Pratt said, via Shelby Dermer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “A guy made a mistake, over and done with it. I was emotional. I was in the moment. As a man, you can look yourself in the mirror and say I was wrong. I wasn’t a great teammate in that moment.”
Other Bengals had Ossai’s back in postgame interviews, with defensive tackle BJ Hill standing beside his teammate.
Ossai had five tackles, two quarterback hits and a pass breakup, but his 15-yard penalty set up Harrison Butker‘s 45-yard, game-winning field goal with three seconds left.