Bengals' B.J. Hill draws praise for backing Joseph Ossai after penalty: 'One person does not lose a game'

Jacob Camenker

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Bengals' B.J. Hill draws praise for backing Joseph Ossai after penalty: 'One person does not lose a game' image

Joseph Ossai credited the entire Bengals team with having his back after his costly personal foul penalty late in Cincinnati's 23-20 AFC championship game loss to the Chiefs.

That said, it was clear that veteran defensive tackle B.J. Hill. offered him the most support following the game.

Hill was among the many Bengals who consoled Ossai after the loss, but he also served as a protectorate of sorts for the young defensive end. He stood by Ossai's side as the teary-eyed 22-year-old answered questions from the media.

MORE: Bengals' Germaine Pratt vents frustration over Joseph Ossai penalty

Hill made sure to note that Ossai "played his butt off" and shut down questions that he believed were unfair to the second-year player. Most of the ones that Hill bristled at were the ones that painted Ossai as the main reason for the Bengals' defeat.

Below is a look at the scene, as captured by Michael Niziolek of Cleveland.com.

Hill took time to explain why he felt that it was so important to support — and protect — Ossai.

"Because he's my brother," Hill told Bengals.com. "The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I had a chance to win a game and I missed a sack. One person does not lose a game. That's not going to fly with me. Especially on this team. A great group of guys. He had a great year. One play doesn't define who you are."

MORE: Joseph Ossai thanks Bengals for "having his back" after penalty vs. Chiefs

Further, Hill credited Ossai for going all-out in his efforts to stop Mahomes on the scramble. Ossai had acknowledged after the game that he was trying to knock Mahomes out of bounds backward, which would have caused the clock to run out on the Chiefs to send the game to overtime.

"That play right there, he was playing his butt off," Hill said. "He practices how he plays. No hard feelings about that play. He was playing all out."

Hill's support of Ossai was well-received by prominent sports figures including Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari. He credited Hill with demonstrating great leadership while others praised him for being a top-caliber teammate.

Ossai certainly appreciated Hill's gesture. He didn't call out his teammate by name but noted that he was thankful for the love he received from his teammates following the game.

"It means the world to me. These guys mean a lot to me," Ossai told reporters. "We come in every single day and we work hard for each other. And to know that they have my back, it's giving me peace right now for sure."

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Hill was happy that he could help provide Ossai with that and made it clear on social media that he would do the same for any one of his teammates.

"One thing about me I’ll always have my brothas back!" Hill wrote. "People asking stupid ass question (sic) got to do better!"

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.