Tag: Tyrique Stevenson

Tyrique Stevenson pulled himself out of Bears practice after getting demoted for Hail Mary fail

The Tyrique Stevenson situation shows the Bears are on the brink of a crisis.

The aftermath of the Chicago Bears’ Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders has somehow managed to endure an entire week in the news cycle. That’s bad news for head coach Matt Eberflus, whose coaching mismanagement and lack of clear accountability have created what feels like an extremely volatile locker-room culture in Chicago right now.

The Bears’ current relationship with Tyrique Stevenson — the easy scapegoat for loss to the Commanders — is the only example needed.

On Sunday, Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that Stevenson pulled himself out of Bears practice early this week after learning he would be demoted for Chicago’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. While Stevenson certainly isn’t the only one to blame, that’s a terrible and immature look for a young player already being hung out to dry for letting his teammates down.

It’s just not how you respond in a situation like this:

Woof. How Stevenson is even allowed in the Bears’ locker room today is beyond me. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Chicago might be fighting for its season against the Cardinals. And a loss might truly torpedo whatever goodwill and unity there still was.

UPDATE: Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Stevenson’s demotion was apparently much more tame than originally reported on a national scale. This now probably reflects much worse on the Bears’ leadership for letting it come out that initial first way.

‘Crazy karma’: Quentin Lake reacts to viral video of Bears DB taunting fans before Hail Mary

Even Quentin Lake couldn’t believe the viral video from the Commanders’ game-winning Hail Mary against the Bears

One of the craziest plays of the 2024 season happened on Sunday afternoon in the Bears-Commanders game, catching the attention of everyone around the league – including Rams defensive back Quentin Lake. In the final seconds, the Commanders beat the Bears on a 52-yard Hail Mary from Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown, stealing a victory with a miraculous finish in front of the home crowd.

Perhaps the most shocking part of the play was Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s role in it. As the play was going on, Stevenson was seen mocking Commanders fans in what’s now become a viral video. He then realizes the play’s happening, runs back to the action and tips the pass into the waiting arms of Brown for a touchdown.

Game over.

Stevenson has come under heavy scrutiny and even Lake shared his reaction to the young DB’s actions. He called it “crazy karma” in a response on social media.

 

Bears DB who taunted Commanders’ fans before game-winning TD apologizes

The Bears cornerback apologized to Chicago and his teammates for mistake.

Sunday was a day to forget for Chicago Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson. First, the second-year cornerback was burned by Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin for a 61-yard completion.

Later in the game, Stevenson was penalized for taunting Washington guard Sam Cosmi. Let’s set the scene for you here. Cosmi is 6-foot-6 and 309 pounds, while Stevenson is 6-foot-0 and 200 pounds. Somehow, on the same play, Stevenson made McLaurin so upset that teammates had to get the usually reserved McLaurin off the field.

McLaurin had some choice words for Stevenson.

Stevenson saved the best for last. On the final play, with the Bears leading 15-12 and two seconds on the clock, Stevenson was walking down the field toward the goal line and took time to taunt fans. This was while the play was going on, before rushing to his position, where he tipped the football into the waiting hands of Washington wide receiver Noah Brown to give the Commanders the win.

One X user, Paul Williams, took time to summarize Stevenson’s day with three images:

Afterward, Stevenson chose not to speak to the media, but did take to Twitter to issue an apology.

Good for Stevenson for quickly accepting his mistake. Social media can be an ugly place and while his actions on the field were hurtful to his team, he certainly doesn’t deserve some of the comments he received — or will receive — as a result.

Chicago Bears DB Tyrique Stevenson taunted crowd during Commanders’ Hail Mary

Things went from bad to worse for the Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson

Tyrique Stevenson of the Chicago Bears has gone viral. And that isn’t a good thing when you were one of the defensive players on the field for Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary.

Video shows the former Miami Hurricane taunting the fans as the Washington Commanders snapped the football on Sunday for the last play of the game.

You can see Stevenson is out of position and not ready for the play. He suddenly realizes what is happening and runs into the scrum where the ball winds up deflected and caught by Noah Brown.

The play gave the Commanders an 18-15 win and made Stevenson look quite the fool.

He later went on social media to apologize. Too little, too late once you have become viral.

Jaylon Johnson took the high road to explain Bears’ pitiful Hail Mary defense

Jaylon Johnson is a great Bears leader and an even better teammate.

In the aftermath of a disastrous defeat squeezed out of the jaws of victory, it’s telling how people react to failure.

For example, there’s the Chicago Bears’ Matt Eberflus. The third-year coach put on a late-game disaster class to set up the Washington Commanders’ stunning Hail Mary win. And instead of falling on his sword, Eberflus decided to blame his players for their “execution.” That should tell you everything about him as a coach.

Then there’s Jaylon Johnson. He’s the Bears’ best player, a veritable All-Pro, and arguably the NFL’s top cornerback. Rather than follow Eberflus’ example, the superstar defender decided that the emotional aftermath of a tough defeat was not the time to throw anyone under the bus (Tyrique Stevenson, come on down!) under any circumstances.

Johnson’s explanation about what went wrong after the Bears’ loss says as much:

Man, that’s a great teammate right there. Because even while Johnson says he doesn’t know whose job it was to cover the back of the end zone, there’s a very high likelihood he had already seen the viral video of Stevenson trash-talking Commanders fans. But, because Johnson is mature and secure enough in his status as a star player, he understands it’s better to keep things in-house rather than tearing down a teammate in public.

Take notes, Matt Eberflus. Your best player is an actual leader.

Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson was seen talking trash to Commanders fans before literally setting up Hail Mary

The Bears’ Tyrique Stevenson was so busy talking trash that he forgot his job.

A litany of errors defined the Chicago Bears’ stunning loss to the Washington Commanders after Jayden Daniels’ unreal Hail Mary touchdown pass. They start with Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who made every possible coaching mistake to create perfect conditions for the play and then declined responsibility for the sequence after the fact.

However, Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson might want to find a way to burn the film of the play before his teammates see it.

As captured by a fan on Twitter, Stevenson was recorded talking trash to Washington supporters in the stands. Stevenson was so absorbed in celebrating a win that wasn’t official yet that he literally missed the snap and the first few seconds of the play. You can see his visible shock that the game is still going on when he turns around.

(Note: This is why you call ANY of your three timeouts, Matt Eberflus.)

And when Stevenson turned around, he was caught scrambling to do anything impactful. While in a fit of clear desperation, the cornerback ended up doing the worst possible thing: tipping the ball to Noah Brown for the game-winner.

In a cruel twist of fate, ESPN’s Benjamin Solak pointed out that Stevenson was probably supposed to shadow Brown and follow him throughout the play. Instead, he let him get behind him, and the rest was history.

I don’t want to pile on Stevenson anymore. Because this young man is about to get it from his Bears teammates and his coaches.

UPDATE: Stevenson appears to have noticed the backlash to the video of him trash-talking mid-Hail Mary. He took to his Twitter to apologize to his Bears teammates and Bears fans, taking accountability for his grave mistake.

WATCH: Bears DB mocking fans before Commanders’ game-winning touchdown

The same player who tipped the ball into Noah Brown’s hands on the game-winner, was taunting fans just before.

Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson thought the game was over. His team had just taken a 15-12 lead with 25 seconds remaining over the Washington Commanders.

So, when the Commanders were down to their final play, with just two seconds remaining, Stevenson was walking down the field toward the goal line in anticipation of Washington’s final Hail Mary pass. On his way down the field, Stevenson took some time to mock Commanders’ fans. After all, the game was in the bag. Right?

Well, we all know what happened. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels’ Hail Mary landed in the arms of wide receiver Noah Brown in the end zone to give the Commanders the 18-15 victory.

The ironic part of this play was that Stevenson tipped the ball into Brown’s hands to secure a Washington win.

Here’s the play.

Unbelievable.

According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, Stevenson refused to speak to reporters after the game.

Karma.

Bears star CB doubtful vs. Jaguars

Bears star CB doubtful vs. Jaguars

On Friday, Chicago labeled star cornerback Tyrique Stevenson as doubtful to play against Jacksonville in Week 6.

Stevenson traveled with the Bears to London but experienced a calf injury during practice on Thursday, resulting in his limited participation for the day. He did not practice Friday.

The second-year cornerback out of Miami started 16 games as a rookie and recorded four interceptions, 16 defended passes, two forced fumbles and 86 total tackles including one for loss. He has logged one interception, a pick-six, five defended passes and 26 tackles through four games this season.

The Bears previously ruled starting safety Jaquan Brisker, and backups, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin) and cornerback Terell Smith (hip), out of Week 6 on Monday. They did not travel with the team to London.

Left guard Teven Jenkins (ankle) and defensive lineman Jacob Martin (toe) were deemed questionable to play against Jacksonville on Chicago’s Friday injury report.

The Jaguars arrived in London Friday morning, will hold a walk-through practice in the afternoon and conduct a standard practice Saturday.

Bears GM Ryan Poles reveals hardships of being rejected by Panthers in 2021

Bears GM Ryan Poles was passed up by the Panthers in 2021. He recently called it one of the hardest moments he’s had to deal with.

If you’re a Carolina Panthers fan who has read the title of this post and still clicked into it, then perhaps you’re a glutton for punishment. But if that’s not your thing, you may want to avert your eyes and ears.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was featured on the latest episode of the Excellent Leadership Podcast, hosted by Chad Biagini. While discussing Poles’ journey in the NFL, Biagini asked the 38-year-old about facing rejection on the path to his current position.

Poles referred back to 2021, when he was actually a top candidate for Carolina’s general manager job. The Panthers, obviously, went in another direction—a decision that stung Poles quite a bit . . .

Carolina, instead, opted for Seattle Seahawks vice president of football operations Scott Fitterer. Poles, the executive director of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs at the time, would eventually be hired by Chicago.

And, ironically enough, Poles and Fitterer would go on to do some heavy business down the line.

In May of 2023, Poles and the Bears traded away that year’s No. 1 overall pick to Fitterer and the Panthers in exchange for a king’s ransom. The Panthers—for what became the draft rights to Alabama quarterback Bryce Young—shipped off two first-round picks, two second-round picks and star wideout DJ Moore.

The deal has proved to be a massive boon to the Bears, one of the league’s fastest-rising teams. Chicago got a career year out of Moore in 2023, a couple of keepers in offensive tackle Darnell Wright and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and the No. 1 overall pick of the very next draft—quarterback Caleb Williams.

Oh, and they still have to collect on a 2025 second-round pick, which will likely end up as a pretty high one.

Conversely, the trade has yet to work out for Carolina—who relinquished a bevy of resources into that top selection. Since then, the Panthers have gone 2-16 while Young has passed for 178.7 yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

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Alontae Taylor snubbed for Defensive Player of Week 1 recognition

Alontae Taylor was snubbed for the NFC Defensive Player of Week 1 award. Not everyone gets a Will Levis pick-six thrown right to them:

Credit where it’s due: Tyrique Stevenson made a big play when the ball was thrown to him. The Chicago Bears defensive back intercepted Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis and scored a game-changing touchdown on the return that left the second-year passer falling to his knees with his helmet in his hands in disbelief.

But come on. Anyone can intercept Levis. New Orleans Saints nickel Alontae Taylor was the first defensive back to record three sacks in a single game in team history. It’s just the thirteenth time in NFL history that a cornerback or safety has done that. But it was Stevenson recognized as the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1.

Look a little deeper. Pro Football Focus charting found that Taylor was targeted 4 times against the Carolina Panthers, but he yielded just 35 yards and a single first down on 2 receptions, with a pass breakup. Stevenson was targeted 9 times and allowed 3 catches for 42 yards, each reception converting a first down, including a touchdown. He also had a pass breakup and that pick-six. In the official NFL gamebook, Taylor was credited with 5 tackles plus an 1 assist. Stevenson had 2 tackles and as many assists.

Both players enjoyed strong performances. But only one of them made history. Taylor will just have to wait for his recognition another day.

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