Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made a couple of critical errors on the final play of Sunday’s 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders. A video has surfaced online of Stevenson taunting fans in the crowd before and after the snap on a play that would result in a Jayden Daniels touchdown pass.
A pass that Stevenson tipped into the air for Noah Brown to haul in.
Tyrique Stevenson apologized
Stevenson told reporters after the game that he wouldn’t immediately address the events at the end of the game. However, Stevenson released a statement on X Sunday night. The second-year player took responsibility for the mistake.
“To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus,” Stevenson wrote. “The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock. Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen.”
Matt Eberflus defended poor decisions
Stevenson’s message stood in contrast to Bears head coach Matt Eberflus’ tone on Sunday evening.
Eberflus played defense against the media’s questions. He defended offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s choice to give Doug Kramer a carry from the Washington one-yard line that resulted in the offensive lineman’s fumble.
Per Chris Emma with 670 The Score, Eberflus excused his defensive strategy on the penultimate play of the game, where Washington converted a wide-open pass to march into range for a hail mary.
“Matt Eberflus defended the Bears dropping their defenders back to the 30-yard line on the second to last play, allowing a 13-yard catch into Hail Mary range at the 48-yard line: “It doesn’t really matter. It’s always really going to come down to that last play'” Emma posted on X.
It doesn’t really matter? Huh?
According to Dan Wiederer with the Chicago Tribune, Eberflus’ postgame speech didn’t resonate with his defensive players.
“I was still in the locker room with Bears defenders when Matt Eberflus spoke tonight,” Wiederer posted on X. “Watching it back now. Some of his positive spin on the day registers as very, very tone deaf for what today was and what his team experienced.”
Is there nothing for the Chicago Bears to learn from?
Unlike Stevenson, Eberflus refuses to take responsibility for poor results on the field.
If Sunday’s game seemed to you like it was the “same old Bears” making dumb mistakes, it was. Because Eberflus to this point has proved pathologically incapable of making changes unrelated to his physical appearance. In order for Eberflus to make the type of necessary changes to not put the Bears in a poor position on the final play of the game, he’d have to realize why strategy earlier in the game matters.
To Eberflus, there’s nothing for the coaching staff to learn from.
