CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson apologized to his teammates for motioning to the crowd and having his back turned when the Washington Commanders snapped the ball on their winning Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired and vowed not to do it again.
“I let the moment get too big and it’s something that can never happen again and won’t ever happen again,” he said Monday, a day after a gut-wrenching 18-15 loss.
Stevenson addressed the team without prompting during a meeting on Monday. He said he wanted to let the other players know he realized he “let them down.”
Coach Matt Eberflus said any discipline would be handled in house. Stevenson sounded like he was prepared for it, though he said he hadn’t met with the coaches.
“We’ve been going over film and doing walkthroughs and trying to get everything corrected. So honestly, I can’t give you (any) details on that, but,” he said, without finishing the sentence.
The Bears (4-3) came into Sunday’s game at Washington looking for their fourth straight win. But after struggling on offense most of the day, they took their first lead with 25 seconds left on Roschon Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
The Commanders then moved from the 24 to their 48 before a scrambling Jayden Daniels hit Noah Brown with the winning 52-yard touchdown. Stevenson was late to get to the play and missed the chance to prevent Zach Ertz from tipping the ball up for an uncovered Brown to catch in the end zone.
Video posted on social media showed Stevenson pointing toward the stands and raising his arms in the air with his back to the play — he said because he was cheering with Bears fans — when the ball was snapped. When he realized what was happening, he sprinted toward the middle of the field. Eberflus said Stevenson was supposed to block out Brown. But instead, he went up for the pass.
“I think it’s a really good lesson for everybody to learn from in terms of how to respect the game,” tight end Cole Kmet said.
Stevenson posted an apology following the game on social media, saying: “To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus …. The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock. Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen.”
Two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard said the Bears “still love” Stevenson and called it a “lesson learned for him.”
“He addressed the team without anybody asking and kind of said his piece and said what he needed to say and I thought it was a great message just apologizing and saying that he wasn’t locked in and things like that,” he said. “That just shows proof right there within himself. That’s all you can hope for in a situation like that and we’ll continue to support him.”
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