The last thing the Bears want to discuss these days is their epic loss to the Commanders nearly a year ago.
Head coach Ben Johnson dismissed the subject Tuesday by saying, ‘‘We’re a new team,’’ and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who blew his assignment on the infamous ‘‘Fail Mary,’’ was so set on skipping the conversation that he walked briskly in and out of the locker room before reporters could ask anything.
But this topic is unavoidable.
Aside from the big-picture questions about the Bears’ legitimacy and the ever-present spotlight on quarterback Caleb Williams, the game Monday at the Commanders is bigger for Stevenson than anyone.
It doesn’t matter whether he wants to talk about it; everyone else will be.
The defeat at Northwest Stadium sank the Bears’ season and pushed Stevenson to a critical juncture of his career in just his second season. Johnson, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and teammates have said they’re seeing maturation and Stevenson has talked about growth, but the stain remains.
The clip will be on TV all week and is certain to be prominent in ESPN’s coverage leading up to and during the broadcast Monday. With the game on the line and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels having no choice but to heave the ball to the end zone and hope for the best, Stevenson had his back to the play and was gesturing and jawing at fans.
Daniels took the snap at his 42-yard line, scrambled to buy time and launched the ball from his 35 to a crowd at the Bears’ 2. It fluttered softly to wide receiver Noah Brown for the touchdown and victory.
In his mad dash to get back in the action, Stevenson further abandoned his responsibility by charging into the crowd and leaping to deflect the pass. That was safety Kevin Byard’s job. Stevenson was supposed to be boxing out Brown to prevent exactly what happened.
Stevenson has said several times he regretted getting caught up with fans, but he never has made it clear he understood the second part of his mistake. That would’ve been a good thing to address if he had talked Tuesday. It would’ve been prudent to hit the whole discussion head-on rather than let it drag out this week.
As though the mental lapse and the loss weren’t bad enough, Stevenson and the Bears made it even worse. Former head coach Matt Eberflus gave him a slap-on-the-wrist punishment by telling him he would begin the next game on the bench, and Stevenson reacted by storming out of practice. There was no consequence for that.
The entire ordeal sunk the Bears’ season, set off alarms about Eberflus’ inability to lead and, simply, has been career-defining for Stevenson. The Bears ended up losing 10 games in a row, Eberflus got fired and the ‘‘Fail Mary’’ is the first thing anyone thinks of when Stevenson’s name is mentioned.
If he hadn’t bungled that play, he would be just another player. His ups and downs wouldn’t be under nearly as much scrutiny. Until Stevenson does something positive that overshadows it, he’ll be associated primarily with this.
The Bears would love to see him do that. General manager Ryan Poles spent a valuable second-round pick (No. 56 overall) on him in 2023, and top cornerback Jaylon Johnson is on injured reserve. They need Stevenson to turn it around now and for their future.
Ben Johnson promised a clean slate for Stevenson when he took over this season, but even with that opportunity, as well as the chance to learn under an accomplished pro in defensive backs coach Al Harris, it has been a bumpy ride.
Stevenson is riding high at the moment, coming off strong performances against the Cowboys and Raiders, but he allowed a perfect passer rating when quarterbacks threw his way in the first two games. Allen flagged some questionable work habits in the first two weeks but has seen Stevenson sharpen his attention since.
‘‘I’ve seen it improve,’’ Johnson said. ‘‘There’s always still work to be done there, but Al Harris has done a nice job showing him what it means to be a pro, and he’s taken that to heart. The practice habits continue to improve, and I really believe that he’s starting to turn the corner for us.’’
Stevenson needs to turn that corner for himself, too. Anyone in his third season is playing for a contract extension in the upcoming offseason, and he hasn’t shown enough yet for the Bears to commit. For Stevenson, convincing them would be the difference between signing a new deal worth more than $10 million per season and playing out his rookie contract next season for $2.1 million and seeing how he fares in free agency.
This week is a key stage in the evaluation. It seems unlikely Stevenson would make another ‘‘Fail Mary’’-level mistake, but any wavering in his focus would be cause for concern. A poor game in general would be an especially bad look for him and a huge story because of the history.
The Bears need to see the best possible version of Stevenson, especially this week.
