Bengals’ Germaine Pratt addresses his Joseph Ossai comments

Nov 21, 2021; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt (57) against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt had a strong reaction to Joseph Ossai’s game-changing penalty at the end of Sunday’s AFC Championship game, and he is clearly regretful of the incident a day later.

Pratt was captured on video having an angry outburst over Ossai’s unnecessary roughness penalty that put the Kansas City Chiefs in field goal range in the final seconds of their eventual 23-20 win. The video went viral on Twitter, prompting widespread criticism of Pratt. Pratt responded on social media by defending himself as a teammate and blaming the heat of the moment for the reaction.

Pratt was more measured on Monday, when he admitted he had been in the wrong and a bad teammate in reacting the way he did.

“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.”

Ossai was visibly devastated after committing the penalty, so to many, it looked like Pratt was just pouring salt in the wound. Once the linebacker had the chance to cool down, it was pretty obvious that he’d reacted poorly, and kudos to him for owning up to it.