Tyrique Stevenson primed for Bears' rematch with Commanders after Hail Mary disaster
As the Bears get ready to return to the site of last season's disaster against the Commanders, the key contributor to that infamous "Fail Mary" has a chance to redeem himself in the rematch.
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson talked about going back to the scene of the crime, where he turned his back to the play and appeared to taunt the crowd as the Commanders snapped the ball for a game-winning Hail Mary touchdown pass as time expired.
A scrambling Jayden Daniels hit Noah Brown with the winning 52-yard touchdown, as 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.
The play helped derail the Bears' entire season, with the team going on to lose 10 straight games.
Stevenson said he's using what happened last year against the Commanders as fuel as he and the Bears return to Washington on Monday night.
"It still hurts, because end of the day I'm a football player, and the last thing I want to do is have a play that's not so good and my name be memorable. On top of all the good things I did, it could overshadow that, but just use it as motivation to come out and stay focused on all tasks, and definitely learned to wait until clock hits double zeros," he said. "Just use that as a learning curve to mature and be the cornerback that this team needs."
Head coach Ben Johnson complimented Stevenson's improved practice habits, and said his play has been better on the field too.
Stevenson said what happened last year has helped him grow.
"I had success with my mindset and what I was doing at that time, and I felt like with that situation, it's preparing me to grow, and to mature, and to be able to accept whatever situation comes with this game," he said.
Asked what this week's game means to him, Stevenson said, "nothing."
"It's a 1-0 game. I had a bad play. It is what it is. Best thing I can do is come out there and be the CB1 for this team and get the job done," he said.
Meantime, the Bears are ramping up their prep for the Commanders game with a renewed focus on the running game, or lack thereof. They're averaging barely over 102 yards per game, at just 3.8 yards per carry. Running back D'Andre Swift's rushing touchdown in the win over the Raiders is one of only three for the entire team on the season. That's not going to cut it for Johnson.
"I take it personally, because I actually spend more time on the run game than I do on the passing game, and not only trying to create explosives in the running game, but being sound, and take a lot of pride in our execution of the fundamentals," Johnson said. "We're just, we're not quite there yet."
There won't be an official injury report until Thursday since the Bears play on Monday. Jaquan Brisker and Grady Jarrett have not been seen on the practice field the last two days while offensive tackle Darnell Wright has been working off to the side. Nickel corner Kyler Gordon has said he will make his season debut on Monday after recovering from a hamstring injury that had him out of the first four games. Injured linebacker TJ Edwards also was seen practicing on Wednesday, after missing three of the team's first four games with a hamstring injury. Rookie tight end Colston Loveland also was back at practice after missing the last game with a hip injury.