There is nothing else to say to cornerback Tyrique Stevenson about the Hail Mary touchdown that cost the Chicago Bears a victory against the Washington Commanders, according to cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
“He feels already in a terrible position,” Johnson said Wednesday after a walk-through at Halas Hall, “so there is not too much to say.”
The Bears want to put the loss behind them, but they actually have a lot to say to Stevenson as they look forward.
“We got to build him up,” Johnson said. “Tell him he’s still going to play. At the end of the day, we got to continue to get him in the right direction and bring him along so we can win these games.”
The Bears need Stevenson to do that.
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Coach Matt Eberflus met with Stevenson but wouldn’t publicly outline what they discussed, what kind of discipline will be levied or if Stevenson will start Sunday.
“I will say this,” Eberflus said. “Tyrique has made a lot of plays for this group and for our defense and for our football team over the last couple of years, and he’s going to continue to do that. We’re behind Tyrique, and we’re with him all the way, and again, we’ll work through this as we go.”
Several times, Eberflus responded to reporters by saying, “I appreciate the question.” It was one of those days at Halas Hall when we didn’t do a whole lot of previewing Sunday’s matchup between two NFC teams with playoff aspirations. There was a lot of talk about accountability and leadership.
Kevin Fishbain: When quarterback Caleb Williams was asked about his teammates speaking out publicly to question coaching decisions, he spun it as a positive — an example of a player-led team. “Something I go by myself is that OK teams, nobody leads; good teams, the coaches lead; and great teams, the players lead,” he said.
Receiver DJ Moore reiterated the idea that this Bears team is player-led and that while he was told to keep some things in-house in the future, the captains getting together with Eberflus was a positive. “You’ve got a bunch of veterans in there and everybody speaks their opinion,” he said. This team definitely has the leaders, and more importantly, talent to persevere, but how’s a player-led team jibe with Eberflus?
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Adam Jahns: It worked under former coach Lovie Smith. He had player-led teams with linebacker Brian Urlacher and center Olin Kreutz as two of his captains. Smith leaned on them to handle the locker room. Those teams had other leaders, too. Urlacher and Kreutz would probably tell the current Bears that it’s probably best to keep all grievances in-house.
Safety Kevin Byard expressed some regret about how he shared his thoughts about the play that preceded the Commanders’ Hail Mary. He essentially told everyone that he disagreed with Eberflus’ assertion that the completion to receiver Terry McLaurin didn’t mean much.
“Looking back at it, as a man, I feel like I would have handled it differently,” Byard said. “But I don’t regret how I felt about it. But I wish that I would’ve just kept family business (as) family business.”
Wide receiver DJ Moore was one of three Bears captains to publicly express issues with decisions made in Sunday’s loss. They say they’ll keep it in-house in the future. (Greg Fiume / Getty Images)
Fishbain: Moore kicked off the uncomfortable Monday because he had the first interview of the day, telling “Mully & Haugh” how he felt about the handoff to offensive lineman Doug Kramer.
“It’s just got to stay in-house next time,” Moore said Wednesday. “I mean, I’m not going to say ‘sorry for what I said,’ but at the same time it is, it should have just stayed in-house, but I said what I said.”
It’s a tricky balance for everyone. Eberflus wants his players to be vocal and express themselves. The players want to be a player-led team and, in today’s media landscape, a bunch of them have (paid) radio appearances and podcasts where tough questions come up.
I asked Moore what gives him confidence they can bounce back from this.
“Just the early losses,” he said. “The Indy loss we were tested then, and we bounced back with a three-game win streak. Now we have this one, which is even bigger because it was an NFC opponent. Now we just have to try and cook another NFC opponent the way we just lost and make them feel how we feel and just win from that one.”
To their credit, they did rebound from an ugly start with some serious questions about play calling. But how many more instances like this can this team endure? The leadership and talent, I think, are there, but can it overcome questionable coaching?
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Jahns: The communication between players and coaches that’s happening at Halas Hall isn’t a bad thing. But if you’re in the Bears front office, your concerns should be whether those conversations eventually transform into a lack of confidence in Eberflus, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron or the coaching staff.
And if you’re in the Bears front office, you have to be somewhat concerned that such conversations have become a frequent storyline this season, starting on the offensive side of the ball. It usually means that there are problems on the field on game days.
For now, the players are behind Eberflus.
“I still believe he’s a good coach — I think he’s a great coach,” Byard said. “I still believe that the players, we believe in him. I still think that nothing’s going to change on our end as a team in how we prepare and how we go about our business. What happened on Sunday happened. And at the end of the day, we’re just moving forward.”
Fishbain: Moore accurately noted that they’re 4-3 right now, while last year’s team started 2-7 and never got above .500. There is a path to 6-3 heading into division play that wouldn’t be surprising. We think that’s what helps separate this team from other Bears teams in the post-Lovie Smith era that have encountered dysfunction.
The continued and fair questions about coaching and accountability, though, don’t usually happen on playoff teams. Do you know what teams haven’t dealt with that this season? The Vikings, Packers and Lions. This is the second go-around for the Bears in eight games. There can’t be a third, can there? (I’ve been in this building enough to know, there can be.)
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Jahns: The Smith-era Bears weren’t without their controversies. Let’s not forget that. But those teams won more than they lost. If the wins start to add up for Eberflus’ team — starting Sunday in the desert against the Arizona Cardinals — then what happened against the Commanders can finally be forgotten.
You could still feel the loss at Halas Hall when Eberflus and the players talked about it. It’s taken a while to flush out. Or as Johnson said, “I don’t necessarily believe in the 24-hour rule. … Everybody’s different.”
What matters more than anything now is that everybody — players and coaches — finds a way to help deliver the organization its fifth win of the season Sunday.
“S—, we got to win,” Johnson said. “Because I mean, we can do things Monday through Saturday and it all feels good going into the game and we lose. And quite honestly, it don’t mean s— to me. We’re here for wins and losses, not just doing things the right way. I mean, hopefully doing things the right way gets us those wins. But ultimately, it’s about winning and losing.”
(Top photo of Jaylon Jones: Peter Casey / Imagn Images)
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