Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson addressed the team Monday morning and apologized for not being in position for Washington’s game-winning Hail Mary touchdown on Sunday.
“I apologized to the boys for letting them down,” he said. “I let the moment get too big and it’s something that can never happen again and won’t ever happen again.”
As the Commanders prepared to take the final snap of the game from their 48-yard line, Stevenson could be seen yelling to fans in the stands. He said he wasn’t taunting but cheering with fellow Bears fans.
Stevenson should’ve picked up Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown and boxed him out, Stevenson and coach Matt Eberflus confirmed.
“Tyrique’s got to do a good job of putting his body on 85 and boxing him out,” Eberflus said. “We know he’s got to do a good job of that.”
Instead, Stevenson was late to the play and leaped to try to tip the pass. Brown was unguarded behind the group of jumpers and caught the winning touchdown pass.
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JAYDEN DANIELS HAIL MARY! @COMMANDERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/BsQ0Z84Rko
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
“Just trying to make a play for my team,” Stevenson said. “It easily could have went, ‘Oh, Tyrique, good pass knockdown’ and we’re not in the situation we’re in right now.”
A second-year cornerback, Stevenson picked up a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty earlier in the game for jawing with Commanders players. He also gave up a 61-yard pass to receiver Terry McLaurin.
“I would say the only regret I have from yesterday is just letting this team down from working hard and coming back and putting ourselves in the W column,” he said. “You know, just for me to be out of place and you know do something that’s out of character for me and cost us the loss.”
Veteran safety Kevin Byard, who was the Bear tasked with jumping to tip the ball, said he knows Stevenson “has been getting hammered on social media” but he’s “going to support my guy.”
“It’s going to be a great lesson for him just as we go forward throughout this season and just in life, period, how to be able to handle adversity,” Byard said. “You only lose when you don’t learn and I think he’s going to learn from it and will get better from it.”
Tight end Cole Kmet, another team captain, said the Bears appreciated Stevenson standing up in front of the team to say that what he did at the end of the game was “unacceptable.”
“That’s the unfortunate (part) and I would also say the beauty of this game is that you disrespect it in a certain way and it will come to haunt you in some form or fashion,” Kmet said. “So I think it’s a learning experience for everybody. We all play with a lot of passion. Tyrique plays with a lot of passion, and we all love him for that. But there’s definitely a respect level of the game and knowing that you’ve got to finish it out until those double zeros hit the clock.”
As far as any discipline, Eberflus said, “Those things are always going to be internal as we work with our players as we go forward. It’s really about development and making everybody better. We’ll get to that answer as we go through the week.”
Eberflus said Stevenson’s talk with the team was “a really good moment” and “showed responsibility and accountability.”
We’ll see if that’s enough for Stevenson to avoid any other kind of consequence, whether it’s as severe as a suspension or being benched for the upcoming game in Arizona. He posted an apology to social media Sunday night, spoke to the team Monday morning, then addressed the media.
Cornerback Terell Smith, who played two series in place of Stevenson during the game — likely to help give Stevenson a breather as he worked his way back from a calf injury — would start if the Bears decide to sit their starting cornerback.
Stevenson leads the Bears with six passes defensed and has one interception this season.
Required reading
• Hail Mary puts spotlight on Bears’ miscues, a team that’s not ready for prime time
• Washington’s Hail Mary curses the Bears to the agony of an unbelievable road loss
• Caleb Williams once won a game in D.C. on a Hail Mary. Sunday, he was on the other side
(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)
