Was Tyrique Stevenson taunting fans during Hail Mary play? Is that what cost the Chicago Bears in epic loss?

LANDOVER, Md. – The plan was to form a triangle around the tip man. That’s typically the best way NFL teams know how to defend a Hail Mary pass. Form a triangle around one designated tip man in order to give him space to knock the ball down.

“We’ve practiced that play a hundred times since we’ve been here,” Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “I’ll have to look at what the execution was of that. But we have a body on a body, boxing guys out like basketball at the very end. We have one guy that’s the rim that knocks the ball down. We have a back tip guy that goes behind the pile.”

It appears that whoever was supposed to be the man behind the pile was not there.

On a Hail Mary play with time expired on Sunday at Northwest Stadium in Maryland, the Bears defenders tipped a 52-yard prayer from Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels – and it landed in the hands of Commanders receiver Noah Brown for a game-winning touchdown.

The Commanders won, 18-15, in what might go down as the play of the year in the NFL. It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Bears, who drop to 4-3 on the season, because they had just grabbed their first lead of the afternoon seconds earlier when running back Roschon Johnson punched in a 1-yard touchdown run.

The Bears battled all afternoon to stay in the game, then snatch the lead. Only for it to end in crushing fashion.

“There should never be somebody wide open in the back of the end zone,” Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said.

In the locker room after the game, the Bears were careful not to pin the blame on any one person. When it happened live, four Bears defenders descended on the football. It was cornerback Tyrique Stevenson who appeared to get a hand on the Hail Mary toss and deflect it.

As Eberflus said, though, somebody was supposed to be standing behind the play. Brown should never have been alone in the end zone. Asked if that person was simply not there, Eberflus said: “I’ve got to take a look at it.”

Upon further inspection, both the TV copy and a video floating around social media appear to show Stevenson gesturing toward the crowd as the play is happening.

Stevenson begins the play near the end zone, with his back toward the Commanders offense. He’s seen waiving his arms at the crowd, and then he seems to notice that the play is already underway. He then races toward the middle of the field to help break up the pass.

Only the Bears know what Stevenson’s job was, but the clip wasn’t a good look. Stevenson declined to speak with members of the media after the game. He told reporters he would speak on Monday.

“I can’t tell you who was supposed to be there, I don’t know,” Johnson said when asked who was supposed to be in back. “But at the end of the day there should never be somebody wide open in the back of the end zone. We all got to find a way to execute better down the stretch.”

Stevenson later posted the following on X: “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.”

There was plenty to criticize on the play. The Bears also rushed only three pass rushers. Linebacker TJ Edwards was guarding the running back, who stayed back in pass protection, so the Bears had four players up near Daniels and seven players to defend the end zone.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Daniels ran around for more than 12 seconds. Since Next Gen Stats began tracking such things in 2016, it was the only touchdown pass in the NFL where the quarterback held onto the football for longer than 10 seconds.

I can’t tell you who was supposed to be there, I don’t know. But at the end of the day there should never be somebody wide open in the back of the end zone.”

—  Jaylon Johnson, Bears cornerback

From snap to touchdown, the play took about 17 seconds.

“When a play is 17 seconds and everything’s breaking down and guys are running loose, you have ideal ways of doing stuff,” Elijah Hicks said. “And then it’s like … you see stuff [happen].”

The Bears had to defend the play for a long time. That’s no excuse, but it was definitely a play unlike any other.

“It’s a Hail Mary,” Johnson said. “They’re not gonna call a holding. They’re not gonna call a pass interference. It’s a [expletive] free play to beat your guy there. So for me, my focus, my energy was on not letting my guy get into the end zone. Hitting him, being physical.”

Ultimately, though, somebody lost Brown – and it proved to be a fatal error.