(670 The Score) Bears star cornerback Jaylon Johnson believes his team’s defense would’ve benefitted from coach Matt Eberflus taking a timeout before the Commanders completed a stunning Hail Mary touchdown to earn an 18-15 win Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md.
As the Commanders lined up from their own 48-yard line with two seconds remaining and the Bears leading 15-12, Chicago’s defense had a bit of confusion, Johnson explained on the Spiegel & Holmes Show on Monday evening. That turned out to haunt the Bears, as Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels scrambled for more than 12 seconds, avoiding a three-man rush, before connecting with receiver Noah Brown on a 52-yard touchdown.
Brown corralled the ball all alone in the end zone off a deflection by Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Chicago had no “back-tip guy” defending behind the mass of bodies leaping for the heave.
“It was a rushed situation when it didn’t have to be,” Johnson said. “I feel like we definitely could’ve slowed down. Just looking at it, I feel like we could’ve possibly taken a timeout or something to get everybody situated, figure out who we were going to box out, kind of get everybody calmed down and ready for that last play. Of course, that didn’t happen. But at the end of the day, we knew our responsibilities. That definitely is something that goes without being said. We knew our responsibilities. But it’s a lot harder when you’re trying to figure things out on the go.
“In practice, it’s a controlled setting. ‘OK, hey, this is who we’re double-teaming if we get everybody lined up, make sure they know where they’re at,’ versus in that situation, have to play on the pass, we’re kind of looking and scrambling like, ‘OK, who are we double-teaming? Who’s going to beat who? Where are we going to be at?’ I mean, I was calling Tremaine (Edmunds) over from the other side of the field. Like, I’m just trying to figure out who do we double team. I’m like, ‘Shoot, let’s just double-team (Terry) McLaurin, he’s their best guy.’ I mean, we were kind of doing stuff like that on the fly. That wasn’t even really communicated beforehand. We were just trying to get in the best position we could on the fly. They snapped the ball. Everything happened the way it happened. It happened so quick, and we weren’t lined up where we were supposed to be.”
Following the game, Eberflus pointed to how the Bears consistently practice defending Hail Mary heaves. But it’s worth noting those situations tend to be run at a reduced speed in order to avoid collisions and potential injuries in practice.
The 24-year-old Stevenson has been under fire for his actions and lack of focus on the play. Prior to Daniels receiving the snap, Stevenson was in the corner of the end zone raising his arms toward fans, with his back to the line of scrimmage. He sprinted into the scrum late, then elevated for a tip when his responsibility was to shadow Brown, who easily hauled in the deflected pass.
Stevenson apologized for lapse in judgment in a team meeting Monday morning. Johnson didn’t plan to personally discuss the matter with Stevenson, calling it “beating a dead horse” to share the same message with him that others already had.
"In that moment, knowing if he would’ve been locked in, I think there would’ve been a 0% chance of them getting that (touchdown),” Johnson said. “For me, there’s nothing to say. I mean, it hurts him, it hurts us, it hurts the team.
“That can get heavy mentally. At the end of the day, we still need him to be the best defense we can be. That starts with another opportunity on Sunday."