"No, it’s not good. This the motherf---er’s last year. Why the f--- would you touch the quarterback," he screamed as he went into the locker room.
Joseph Ossai, #58, and Zach Carter, #95 of the Cincinnati Bengals, tackle Patrick Mahomes, #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs, during the fourth quarter in the AFC Championship Game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Jan. 29, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Frustrations were certainly running high after the Bengals’ season ended on that Harrison Butker 45-yard field goal, but Pratt was saying (more harshly than most) what many were thinking: It was not a smart move by Ossai when he was chasing Patrick Mahomes out of bounds.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
Mahomes was looking to pick up some more yards for Butker to work with on the game-winner when he scrambled out of the pocket despite his high-ankle sprain still bothering him.
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He picked up five yards as both of his feet hit the white out-of-bounds paint, but Ossai made the costly error to shove Mahomes to the ground, which immediately resulted in an unnecessary roughness call that changed the entire game.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, #15, gestures before the snap against the Cincinnati Bengals during the third quarter of the AFC Championship game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium Jan. 29, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports)
Instead of being at the Cincinnati 42-yard line, the Chiefs were in business from the 27-yard line instead.
With eight seconds remaining, Butker kicked it right down the middle to send the Chiefs to the Super Bowl and Pratt’s livid comments followed.
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While it was a bad play on his part, Ossai just finished his second year in the NFL with the Bengals after being drafted in the third round out of Texas. He still has two years left on his rookie deal, but you never know what can happen in this business.
Joseph Ossai, #58 of the Cincinnati Bengals, looks on during the first half of a preseason game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 21, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Pratt was also a third-round pick by Cincinnati in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he has started every game he’s played with them for the past three seasons. He totaled 99 tackles in the regular season.