Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made a fatal mistake during the final seconds of Sunday’s loss.
Stevenson learned the hard way not to count his chickens until they hatch when the Bears suffered an excruciating loss to the Washington Commanders on a Hail Mary play in Week 8.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams appeared to have secured victory in the battle of the No. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 draft when he led what appeared to be a 62-yard game-winning drive with 25 seconds left in the final room.
However, his rival counterpart, Jayden Daniels, pulled off a miracle in the Windy City when he threw a game-winning 52-yard Hail Mary to Noah Brown with triple zeros on the clock.
It was a devastating blow for the Bears, but one player will suffer the loss more than most.
Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was caught off guard during the Commanders’ Hail Mary.
Incredibly, Washington had to go 76 yards in 25 seconds with a timeout and most fans inside the stadium believed the game was over, including Stevenson.
The cornerback was caught taunting Commanders fans near the edge of the end zone as Washington began its Hail Mary attempt.
In fact, he was so confident that he incredibly had his back to the line of scrimmage when Washington snapped the ball.
Caught off guard, Stevenson sprang into action and grabbed the ball only to tip it into Brown’s hands for Washington’s 18-15 victory.
Daniels’ 52-yard Hail Mary was the longest game-winning touchdown since the ‘Miami Miracle’ in 2018.
Jayden Daniels threw a 52-yard Hail Mary winner to Noah Brown (pictured)
Stevenson grabbed the ball only to tip it into Brown’s hands for Washington’s victory.
“We had those plays at the end, and it all comes down to that last play,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said of the play.
“We’ve practiced that play hundreds of times since we got here,” he said. ‘I have to see what the execution of that was. We have one body against another, boxing guys like basketball at the end. We have a guy who is the ‘hoop’, who knocks down the ball. We have a guy who goes behind the pile. I have to look at it, detail it and make sure we are better next time.”
The game pitted rookie quarterbacks Chicago’s Williams, the No. 1 pick out of Southern California, and Daniels, LSU’s No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Daniels was a decision to play Sunday after suffering a rib injury on the Commanders’ first play from scrimmage in a home win a week earlier against the Carolina Panthers. Daniels, who did not practice until Friday, was 21 of 38 for 326 yards and a score. He also ran eight times for 52 yards.
