LANDOVER, Md. (670 The Score) – With his Bears leading 15-12 with two seconds remaining in the game Sunday as they looked to prevent a Hail Mary heave from 52 yards out, second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson stood near the corner of the end zone talking trash to the Commanders’ home crowd at Northwest Stadium.
At the snap of the ball, the Bears rushed three defenders while also dropping linebacker T.J. Edwards just off the line of scrimmage. That left seven defenders in coverage, including Stevenson, who had his back turned toward the line of scrimmage. Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels allowed the play to develop, bought time and then stepped into a long heave toward the end zone.
Stevenson, who did not turn to face the offense until the Washington receivers were streaming down the field, was a late arrival to the scrum as the football descended into a crowd of Bears and Commanders just in front of the end zone. He jumped and got his hand on the ball, but it turned into a disaster for the Bears as he merely tipped the ball to keep it in the air longer allowing Commanders receiver Noah Brown, who snuck behind the mass of people, to haul in the game-winning touchdown without a defender near him.
"To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus," Stevenson tweeted later on Sunday night. "The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock. Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen."
After the 18-15 defeat, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus didn't have full clarity on how the breakdown occurred, but Stevenson seemed to be a central figure in the gaffe. Stevenson left Chicago's locker room without commenting on the final play, telling reporters that he'll address it Monday.
"We’ve practiced that play 100 times since we’ve been here," Eberflus said. "I’ll have to look at what the execution was of that. But we have a body on a body, boxing guys out like basketball at the very end. We have one guy at the rim that knocks the ball down, we got a back-tip guy that goes behind the pile. That’s a hard way to lose.”
The problem was the Bears didn’t have their “back-tip guy” in the right position. That appeared to be the responsibility of Stevenson, who earlier in the game was flagged for a personal foul penalty for shoving Commanders guard Sam Cosmi in the facemask.
The Bears' coverage on the Hail Mary included several reserve players in their injury-riddled secondary. Safety Jaquan Brisker and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon each missed the game Sunday due to injuries.
The Bears dropped to 4-3 with the loss and could only lament what could’ve been if they’d executed on the final play.
"That was tough," Bears cornerback Josh Blackwell said. "We had them. We had the win. Unfortunately, that last ball was caught.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.