YUCK! Tyrique Stevenson Got Caught Snoozing on the Commanders’ Game-Winning Hail Mary

Just when I was ready to close my laptop after an awful ending to a ridiculously stupid Chicago Bears loss, I saw a clip that put me back into rage mode.

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson got caught taunting and yucking it up with fans right before the game-ending Hail Mary. And while there are so many things that had to go wrong for Chicago to lose this game, this momentary lapse in judgment turned out to be awfully costly — and in the game’s most important moment. Kudos to @joe_abdo for capturing this footage :

This is the type of play that gets players benched or even cut. It is inexcusable. You can’t be jawing with your back turned to the play … while the play is going on … and the game still hangs in the balance. It can’t happen. I wouldn’t blame anyone involved in the decision-making process if the Bears go ahead and bench Tyrique Stevenson for the team’s next game. Actions have consequences, even for the team’s best players.

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And that adds an extra layer of disbelief to this whole ordeal. Tyrique Stevenson should know better. In the offseason, the second-year cornerback from Miami went on a podcast and told a story about how he lost practice reps for loafing and how it was an important lesson to learn as a rookie. It seemed as if Tyrique learned a valuable lesson last year. That he forgot it at the most inopportune time is bad on so many levels.

Tyrique Stevenson’s major gaffe was costly

I am dumbfounded and nearly at a loss for words. But somebody has to write words about this, so why not me?

One could make a strong case that Tyrique Stevenson being out of position because he was too busy yacking set off the domino effect that led directly to that touchdown. It is possible that Stevenson was responsible for Noah Brown, the guy who caught the game-winning touchdown. But because he was out of position, he had to hustle to get back into the play, got a hand on the ball, but ultimately tipped it to the place where he should’ve been. What an awful time for a horrendous gaffe.

Even if we don’t know the specifics of Chicago’s prevent defense, I think Benjamin Solak’s breakdown of the play makes a lot of sense.

Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus told reporters after the game that he needs to break down the footage before he gives a full-on explanation as to what happened on that Hail Mary failure by Chicago’s defense. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Coach Flus and Tyrique dissect that piece of film.

The Bears played 59 minutes of solid defense against the quarterback who is the favorite to win rookie of the year (Jayden Daniels), an offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) who might be lining up head coaching offers this offseason, and a team (the Commanders) that came into Sunday’s action leading the NFC East. That should mean something. And had Chicago won that game, that would have made sense (conceptually) as a Monday morning post.

Despite the ugliness that came before it, this should have been a signature win for Chicago’s football team. Instead, it is an all-time gut punch of a loss. The Bears have no one to blame but themselves.