take the hit (for someone or something)
To face punishment, blame, censure, or arrest for someone else's crime or misdeed. We've made it look like he withdrew the money, so when the police start investigating, he'll be the one to take the hit. I'm always taking the hit for your mistakes—I'm sick of covering for you! Janet doesn't have any penalty points on her license, so she agreed to take the hit for Jeff.
take the
fall/hit Slang To incur blame or censure, either willingly or unwillingly: a senior official who took the fall for the failed intelligence operation.