The Bears would love to be done talking about cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
But mistakes like his don’t fade quickly.
As the team tilted its focus toward its game Sunday at the Cardinals, the brutal loss to the Commanders lingered. The Bears managed just 15 points and fell on a last-second Hail Mary and, as if that didn’t hurt enough, Stevenson wandering off mentally at the end contributed to their defeat.
Coach Matt Eberflus continued dodging questions on how he planned to make sure Stevenson got the message and declined Friday to say whether he would keep his starting spot against the Cardinals.
“He’s had a really good week of practice,” Eberflus said, insistent on limiting his comments. “He’s done well with refocusing, and I appreciate his efforts moving into the next phase, which is Arizona.”
Most NFL coaches say they never have enough cornerbacks available, but Eberflus is remarkably well-positioned if he chooses to send Stevenson a message. Backups Terell Smith, Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell all appear to be starting-caliber players, and Smith started the season opener over Stevenson.
While that seemed insignificant at the time, Eberflus was asked Friday if there was a reason for it and replied, “I’m not going to talk about starters and why we do things.”
It was yet another missed opportunity to show the public he has the situation under control.
Meanwhile, after airing out frustration early in the week, Bears players have mostly been supportive and encouraging of Stevenson’s intent to put the gaffe behind him, and he was laughing with teammates during team stretching before practice Thursday.
Veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen stressed the need for Stevenson to take his responsibilities “a little bit more serious,” but did not want to see him benched. Allen “absolutely” wants him to play against the Cardinals.
“He’s one of the best players on defense,” he said. “He just had a little bonehead play, but he’s a guy who’s going to bounce back and make it right and continue to make plays for us.”
Stevenson talked on a Zoom call with reporters Monday, but was not available during open locker room sessions at Halas Hall the rest of the week.
When the final play against the Commanders began, Stevenson was jawing at fans and unaware live action was taking place behind him. Then, rather than fulfill his assignment, he tried to be a hero and sprint in to knock down Jayden Daniels’ heave. Stevenson deflected the ball — directly to wide receiver Noah Brown for the game-winning touchdown, erasing the would-be comeback by Caleb Williams and the offense.
Stevenson’s assignment on that play, which Eberflus said the Bears have practiced “a hundred times” since he’s been their coach, was to box out Brown so safety Kevin Byard could leap to swat the ball. Byard said he couldn’t get a clean jump because Brown was pushing him in the back.
Not only would Stevenson tending to Brown have freed up Byard, it would’ve left Stevenson in perfect position to prevent precisely what won the game for the Commanders. No one was there to stop the ball from fluttering to Brown.
Bears fans probably can’t stomach one more replay of that, but there’s little doubt it’ll be covered again Sunday during the broadcast.
The only thing Stevenson can do to stop hearing about it is to play well Sunday and avoid additional embarrassment. It’s a fairly reasonable request.
“His rookie year started out rough, and to see him progress through that and battle back from adversity, it’s the same concept this week,” fellow cornerback Kyler Gordon said.
This is slightly different. Bad plays and other garden variety miscues are a lot different than totally checking out mentally with the game on the line. Even if the Bears don’t bench Stevenson, he needs to grasp that he has put himself on shaky ground.