Joseph Ossai Choked on a Turkey Leg After the Bengals Beat the Ravens

No athlete wants to choke in a big moment, but that’s literally what Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai did after his team beat the Baltimore Ravens.

After Cincinnati’s 32-14 Thanksgiving Day victory on Thursday, November 27, Ossai, 25, was on the sidelines, chowing down on a turkey leg. NBC’s Melissa Stark tried to pull him in for an on-air interview, which took him by surprise.

“Were you playing for that turkey leg?” she asked him.

Mid-bite, Ossai croaked out a few unintelligible sounds before coughing and managing to respond, “I don’t know. I started eating too soon.”

Stark, 52, called for some water as it was clear that Ossai was actually OK.

It is NFL tradition that the winning team on Thanksgiving enjoys a postgame feast while conducting interviews with the broadcast crew. But for the Bengals, Ossai wasn’t the only one who seemed unprepared for the tableside talk.

Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase wasn’t even facing the camera when Stark tried to get his attention. Asked how he was enjoying the turkey, he was only able to respond with a nod, before swallowing and saying, “It’s not that bad.”

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow didn’t even try the turkey. Now committed to clean eating as he tries to stay healthy, Burrow, 28, told reporters after the game, “I didn’t touch it. I didn’t touch it. I don’t know who made it, I don’t know where they made it. I’m good.”

But Burrow also got emotional talking about his game. It was his first appearance since Week 2, when he suffered a turf toe injury.

“I’m most grateful to all the people in my life that helped me through these last couple weeks,” he said. “It certainly wasn’t easy, all the things that I’ve been through [in] my career so far. I got people that just want the best for me and worked really hard to put me in a great position to go out and play well, get back out on the field. Physical therapists, trainers, doctors…It’s just fun to be back out here with the guys and experiencing this.”

He spoke previously about how difficult it was to watch his teammates continue to play while he was on the sideline, calling it “lonely” in a November 10 press conference.

“You try to do what you can and just grind by yourself in the weight room and in the training room when trying to get right,” he said. “There’s not much more you can do. You’re not out there with the guys, you’re not at practice.”

While Burrow didn’t have the best game of his life, he came up big when it counted. After the Bengals managed four field goals in the first half, he threw two touchdown passes in the third quarter as Cincinnati put some distance between themselves and the Ravens.

“There’s no better feeling than that — putting in work for a long time and going out and it paying off,” Burrow said postgame.

“The whole first half, my feet were a little antsy back there,” he added. “In the second half, I felt a lot more comfortable [and] started putting them where I wanted to.”

His return meant that the Bengals were able to win their first game in more than a month and keep their faint playoff hopes alive.