Golden: Texas ex Joseph Ossai shows upside, learns painful lesson in Bengals' playoff loss

1. A horrible end to a sweet, sweet season

A painful lesson for Ossai: It was a hustle play on Sunday night that an up-and-coming NFL star will replay in his head for what promises to be the longest offseason of his life.

Cincinnati defensive end Joseph Ossai played the game of his life in Sunday's AFC championship game, but he was left in tears on the bench after a game-turning lapse in judgement in the closing seconds. The 22-year-old Texas ex, who missed his 2021 rookie season after a knee injury, made life hell for gimpy Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes all day and came within a whisker of stopping him on the biggest play of the game.

Mahomes, hobbled by the high ankle sprain he'd suffered in the divisional win over Jacksonville, was flushed from the pocket with seconds left in a 20-20 game and clearly was out of bounds when Ossai, in hot pursuit, pushed him from behind. It drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty with eight seconds left that set up Harrison Butker’s 45-yard field goal to win it.

And just like that, Cincinnati’s bid for a second straight Super Bowl appearance came to an end.

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Adding insult to injury, Ossai injured his right knee on the play and was scheduled for an MRI on Monday.

As the Chiefs celebrated in the middle of Arrowhead Stadium — which had been renamed Burrowhead Stadium by Bengals fans as a nod to quarterback Joe Burrow’s 3-0 record over the Chiefs — Ossai was visibly distraught on the bench as teammate Cam Sample consoled him.

He was still in tears when he later spoke with reporters in front of his locker. Teammate BJ Hill was there to lend support to his friend during the toughest time of his young career.

“I’ve got to learn from this experience,” Ossai said. “I’ve got to know to not get close to that quarterback when he’s close to that sideline if it’s anything to possibly (going to) cause a penalty. In a dire situation like that, I’ve got to do better.”

2. Other Longhorns had Ossai's back

'Keep your head up': Twitter is a minefield mostly filled with insult hurlers who come out of the woodwork after their team loses, so Ossai got it from all corners. Thankfully, there were some well-wishers to go with the cyber vermin.

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“I know it hurts but keep your head up,” former Texas star Eric Metcalf tweeted to Ossai. “You played well today and that was just an unfortunate hustle play.”

“Keep your head up,” tweeted fellow Texas ex Malik Jefferson. “Your effort was unmatched.”

Like Metcalf and Jefferson, Ossai was a standup guy at Texas. Popular in the locker room. Hard working. Selfless. He led the Horns in tackles and sacks in 2019 and left for the pros one year early after the 2020 season. Of the Horns in the pros, he has the biggest upside moving forward. It’s of little consequence today, but the skies will brighten eventually.

Ossai earned $1.2 million this season and will earn $1.4 million and $1.6 million over the next two years before coming up for the all-important second contract. He has Pro Bowl appearances in his future, and from the looks of this young roster, the Bengals will be back in a Super Bowl sooner rather than later.

3. Was the loss Ossai's fault? No way, says his coach

Taylor to the defense: Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the game was not won or lost on one sequence, and he was right because the Bengals made some mistakes early and also were on the business end of some questionable calls, including an intentional grounding penalty on their last drive that came with 512 product Samaje Perine in the area of Burrow's pass. That’s of little consolation to Ossai, who was Cincinnati’s defensive MVP before the penalty.

"Joseph comes to work every day, man," Taylor said. "He loves ball. He loves being part of this team. It didn't come down to that play."

He’s clearly a young star on the rise and a bright part of a young contender’s future. Ossai is devastated today, but has nothing to be ashamed of. He turned in a great second season.

"This pain will drive him to be great," teammate D.J. Reader said. "He will get there."

4. With Kellen Moore out in Dallas, what now?

Now McCarthy calls the shots: The Dallas Cowboys parted ways with young offensive coordinator Kellen Moore Sunday, creating a huge opening on the staff.

Moore, hired by the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, shouldn't be labeled a scapegoat because he and head coach Mike McCarthy were 90% responsible for the Cowboys coming up short against an imminently beatable San Francisco team in the divisional round.

McCarthy says he will take over play-calling duties this fall, but Dallas would be much better suited to bring in a proven offensive coordinator to lighten McCarthy's coaching load.

Former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich, Green Bay quarterbacks coach Tom Clements or current Cowboys consultant Brian Schottenheimer are prime candidates for the gig. I didn't mention Kansas City's Eric Bieniemy because the Chiefs' OC has nothing left to prove as a play-caller.

He should be a head coach.

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If McCarthy brings in some help, a new coordinator will inherit an offense with quarterback Dak Prescott’s viability as a Super Bowl QB in question, running back Ezekiel Elliott possibly out of the equation altogether and fellow back Tony Pollard, a free agent, recovering from leg surgery. CeeDee Lamb is an elite wideout and Dalton Schultz is an emerging tight end, but help is needed on the offensive line and at No. 2 receiver.

Dallas has talent, but there is always the Jerry factor. Who knows, after the way the season ended, he may be calling the plays next season.

5. There's no Djoking about tennis' GOAT

Ain't he grand: Novak Djokovic’s 10th Australian Open just tied him with Rafael Nadal for the most grand slam titles ever. It also reopened the debate over who's the greatest to ever play men’s tennis.

It’s Djokovic. He’s the best all-surface player of all time and still has two or three slams left in him, something that can’t be said for the oft-injured Nadal.

I went with the gender descriptor to take Serena Williams out of this discussion because I view her as the greatest of either sex to play the sport.

Djokovic’s 22nd major came in straight sets over Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, and even at the ripe old age of 36 — Rafa is the same age — he appears to have more left in his tank than his Spanish rival.  Yes, these are some old GOATs, but the Djoker has remained relatively healthy, compared to Nadal, who was forced to default his second-round match with a hip injury.

The young guns are coming and Father Time is undefeated, so enjoy legends like Djokovic and Nadal while they’re still in there.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: We know the play, but don't forget about Joseph Ossai's whole season