‘Sh-t Happens’ – Bengals Teammates Rally To Support Rookie Daijahn Anthony After Fourth-and-16 Penalty

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Standing in front of same locker in the visitor’s locker room at Arrowhead Stadium as Joseph Ossai had 20 months earlier, Cincinnati Bengals rookie Daijahn Anthony didn’t have any teammates standing in a makeshift bodyguard.

B.J. Hill ran interference for Ossai, whose eyes were bloodshot and tear-filled after his penalty in the 2022 AFC Championship Game put the Chiefs in position for a game-winning field goal to go to the Super Bowl.

Anthony’s face was more stoic, but the regret evident in his body language was no less intense.

A member of the team’s media relations staff stood next to him, informing anyone who tried to approach the seventh-round safety the team was not making him available, and that he would not be answering any questions.

Daijahn Anthony, Joseph Ossai Penalties at Arrowhead so Similar, yet so Different for Bengals

Ossai’s penalty 20 months ago came with 17 seconds left and moved the Chiefs to Cincinnati 27-yard line, setting up Harrison Butker for a game-winning 45-yard field goal and trip to Super Bowl 57.

Anthony’s penalty Sunday came on a fourth-and-16 play with 38 seconds to play and enabled Butker to kick a game-winning 51-yard field goal from the 32-yard line to send the Bengals to 0-2.

The situations were so similar, yet so different.

Ossai’s was an ill-advised shove of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes after he was out of bounds.

Anthony’s was the result of arriving a fraction of a second too early to try to break up Mahomes’ desperation fourth-down heave for Rashee Rice.

Ossai had Hill screening his questions.

Anthony didn’t want to talk, but his teammates made it clear they have his back, just as Hill did for Ossai.

They shared what their message is for Anthony.

“Keep fighting. It’s the league,” veteran safety Vonn Bell said.

“Bang-bang play,” Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt said. “Daijahn is a guy that we trust. He obviously was out there in a key moment. So we believe in him.”

“Sh-t happens,” CTB “You have to move on. You can’t do nothing about it now. The game’s over. On to next week.”

Even former teammate Allan George took up for Anthony on social media, writing “Can’t even lie, that PI was so weak. My dawg DA was playing the ball.”

Can’t even lie, that PI was so weak. My dawg DA was playing the ball.

— Allan George (@A11ANG) September 16, 2024

Taylor-Britt said what happened to him Sunday should serve as the perfect example for Anthony, who also had an illegal contact penalty that cost teammate DJ Turner II an interception.

“You can have the same play next week and make a play on it, simple as I did in the same game,” he said.

Taylor-Britt got burned for a 44-yard touchdown in the second quarter, but on the same exact play on the final snap of the third quarter, he pulled down a one-handed interception.

That came just a few plays after Anthony’s first penalty wiped out Turner’s interception.

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Anthony was on the field for just four snaps in the game. Two of them resulted in costly penalties.

Unlike the back-breaking 15-yard penalty on wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase that Zac Taylor didn’t want to comment on, the Cincinnati head coach offered his thoughts on the Anthony penalty.

“It’s one of those plays where we may benefit from something like that at some point this season,” Taylor said. “That’s what I told our guys. They’re calling it like they see it. I thought they called a very fair game. They saw that as a penalty, so they called the penalty.

“Our defense still did a great job not giving them any yards after that, so I was proud of the way they kept battling,” he continued. “Because that’s an emotional kick right there on fourth and long.”

It’s a kick that will stick with Anthony for a while, but the support of his teammates will be there longer.