LANDOVER, Md. – Somehow, handing the ball off to an offensive lineman for a fumble on the goal line with the game hanging in the balance wasn’t the most embarrassing thing the Chicago Bears did Sunday against the Washington Commanders.
Tyrique Stevenson made sure of that by taunting the home crowd at Northwest Stadium, which would have been fine had the Bears hung onto a 15-12 comeback victory. Instead, footage taken from the crowd and posted on social media showed Stevenson distracted and taunting fans as Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels snapped the ball and Commanders receivers dashed downfield for a Hail Mary. Stevenson eventually realized there was an actual NFL game still taking place and that he was a participant – an active one at that. The cornerback jumped with the rest of the mass of humanity as Daniels’ last-gasp pass approached, and he helped tip the pigskin backward to a waiting Noah Brown, who caught the 52-yard touchdown with no time on the clock for a stunning 18-15 win.
“We’ve practiced that play a hundred times,” said Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who said he’d have to look at the tape to figure out what went wrong.
The Bears are coached, Eberflus said, to have one defender on each receiver essentially boxing out like a basketball player going for a rebound. A free defender is responsible for going up to bat the ball down. Another defender has the job of being “the back-tip guy who goes around the pile,” Eberflus said.
Whoever that was, Eberflus would not say.
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“That’s a hard way to lose,” he said.
Was the “back-tip guy” not there?
“I got to look at it,” Eberflus said.
Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson said “there should never be somebody wide open in the back of the end zone.”
“I can’t tell you who was supposed to be there,” he said.
The play was bad for the Bears defense in real time and unforgivable due to the viral video. Stevenson did not speak with the media after the game and Eberflus was not specifically asked about his antics.
“To Chicago and teammates my apologies for lack of awareness and focus …. The game ain’t over until zeros hit the clock,” Stevenson wrote on social media after the game. “Can’t take anything for granted. Notes taken, improvement will happen.”
Chicago safety Kevin Byard III confirmed that defenders are supposed to box out their assigned man while someone goes up to knock the ball down. Washington tight end Zach Ertz was able to help force the ball back into the end zone.
“Big pile of people, I know guys are trying to box out,’ Byard said. “But at that point, you can’t just grab guys and tackle them.
“We can talk about the details and all of that, I just know it’s a tough play overall – because like I said, how much time he had, you got to run around, and guys are doing the best they can to get around their guy.”
The Bears rushed three defenders and Daniels held the ball for 12.79 seconds before firing it, according to Next Gen Stats. Eberflus acknowledged his defense could have brought extra pressure and noted that linebacker T.J. Edwards became a non-factor because he was assigned to cover running back Austin Ekeler, who was blocking.
As the Commanders home stadium and sideline exploded in jubilation, the Bears were left shell-shocked.
“You don’t really believe your eyes at the time,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “It’s like, ‘Damn, did it really just happen? Are there any flags?’”
Bears blow earlier chance with putrid goal-line play call
For all of their troubles, the Bears were a yard away from taking a fourth-quarter lead.
Doug Kramer Jr., a backup offensive lineman wearing No. 68, lined up in the traditional fullback spot and reported as eligible as the clock ticked toward six minutes remaining with the Bears facing a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took the snap, turned and presented the ball to Kramer. Within a fraction of the second, the ball was loose and in the hands of Commanders defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton.
“It’s the play we’ve worked,” Eberflus said. “We’ve just got to do it better.”
The coach added: “It’s just wedge blocking. You’re on the 1-yard line. You got a big guy getting the ball. We’ve practiced it a lot.”
Williams said his comfort level in the play was “100 percent.” The rookie quarterback was credited with the fumble officially.
“I know that mistake is bothering (Kramer), but I’m proud of the guys,” said Williams, who made his return to the area in which he grew up and was 10-for-24 for 131 yards passing.
Kramer, 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, is no William “Refrigerator” Perry. He grew up near Chicago in Hinsdale, Illinois, and attended Illinois for college. He certainly isn’t the expected option to take a handoff in that scenario, especially in an offense that occasionally lines up tight end Cole Kmet at the fullback spot.
Pressed again if he was on board with the logic of the call, Eberflus responded: “It’s a 1-yard play.”
Unless it goes backward and is fumbled away. And without some self-reflection, the Bears’ season could go that way, too, after a loss like this one.