Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson thought his team had a win in the bag against the Washington Commanders on Sunday, so he stood with his back to the field and taunted the home crowd as the final play of the game was unfolding.
Seconds later, Stevenson was late to get to a 52-yard Hail Mary pass in the middle of the end zone. He tipped the ball in the air and watched as Commanders receiver Noah Brown caught the ricochet for the game-winning touchdown with no time remaining.
Stevenson, 24, apologized in a post on X after the Commanders’ 18-15 win.
“To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus …. The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock,” he wrote. “Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen.”
The Bears had taken a 15-12 lead with just 25 seconds left in the game before the game-winning heave by Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who scrambled around for nearly 13 seconds before chucking it to the end zone.
Stevenson had seven solo tackles and a pass breakup in the loss, but it’s one play that will stick with Bears fans.
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“It comes down to that last play, and we’ve practiced that play a hundred times since we’ve been here,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said in the postgame press conference.
“I’ll have to look at what the execution was on that, but we have a body on a body, boxing guys out like basketball at the very end. We have one guy that’s the rim that knocks the ball down. We’ve got a back tip guy that goes behind the pile. I’ve got to look at it and detail it out and make sure we’re better next time.”