Monday offers Tyrique Stevenson an opportunity for redemption, one year after the play critics use to define him

CHICAGO (WGN) — Drenched in sweat and standing in front of his locker at Halas Hall, Tyrique Stevenson faced the cameras just days ahead of a game that carries potential for redemption and an opportunity for him to emphatically turn the page on one play that defined his rookie season.

“I would have never changed,” Stevenson said, in reference to his role in the Hail Mary loss at the Washington Commanders. “I feel like with that situation, it prepared me to grow and mature and accept whatever situations come with this game, to be able to stand on ten and look these men in the face when things don’t go my way.”

By now, the clip of Stevenson shortly before the play, dubbed the “Fail Mary” has run a conversational marathon through friend groups, social media and sports talk shows all around the country.

A moment of jawing with opposing fans seconds before the most consequential play of the game—and what turned out to be the Bears’ 2024 season—cast Stevenson in a negative light.

As soon as Jayden Daniels’ desperation heave was tipped up into the air and landed in Noah Brown’s hands with zeroes on the clock, the 30 seconds leading up to that moment have served as a lightning rod to, somewhat fairly, criticize and question everything from Stevenson’s maturity, to his ability to perform on the football field.

“Honestly, that sh*t still hurts cause at the end of the day, this is what we do for a living and the last thing you want is some critics,” Stevenson said on Intercepted with Kevin Byard. “Just to see that people try to define who I am off one play, one game out of the other 30 starts I done had. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to take it. Honestly, I wear it.

“That’s not who I am, but that’s who I showed I am, and actions speak louder than words.”

That game lit the fuse that led to an explosion of catastrophic proportions for the Bears; a 10-game losing streak, the firings of Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron, and Chicago going from playoff aspirations at 4-2, to one of the laughing stocks of the league at 5-12.

But since that day, Stevenson’s teammates and coaches have noticed a player with a changed attitude, someone who has kept that moment in mind and used it as fuel to become better on and off the field.

“I’ve seen from that point on until now, that you’ve been purposeful and purposely making sure that’s not going to define you as a player,” Byard said on the podcast. “You’ve been busting your behind this whole offseason. Coming into OTAs and training camp, you’ve been in shape and balling like crazy.”

“For a young player, I’ve seen [him] improve,” Ben Johnson said on Tuesday. “There’s always still work to be done there, but I think [defensive backs coach] Al Harris has done a nice job showing him what it means to be a pro in this league, and he’s taken that to heart. The practice habits continue to improve, and I really believe that he’s starting to turn the corner for us.”

“It seems like he learned from it, and it seems like he’s growing from it,” Tremaine Edmunds said on Tuesday. “So, I’m just happy to see his growth as far as him this year in general. He’s been making some big time plays, but that speaks on the work that he put in [with] his attention to detail and really just how he goes about his business.”

Fast forward to this weekend, Stevenson is currently riding atop a two-week wave of momentum that started with the Dallas Cowboys game in Week 3.

Stevenson logged three combined tackles, 2 passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery against the Cowboys three weeks ago, which set the stage for his Week 4 performance. He notched six combined tackles, two passes defended, an interception and another fumble recovery at the Las Vegas Raiders.

“It was probably one of the best interceptions I ever had,” Stevenson said on Byard’s podcast. “I think this pick was a true ‘believe’ moment, like, I believed I could do it because in order to take the leap and completely lay out for it, I had to believe it.”

Stevenson’s diving interception came on the first play of the second half against the Raiders.

Las Vegas lined up in 12 personnel out of the shotgun. Brock Bowers started left inside of the X, Tre Tucker, and Jakobi Meyers in the slot, then motioned right until he lined up on the outside shoulder of their second tight end, Ian Thomas.

Stevenson was matched up in man against Meyers in the slot. Stevenson shadowed Meyers closely on the crosser and perfectly timed his dive in front of him for a full-extension interception.

“I think Tyrique’s gotten better each game. Prior to the bye week, that was his best game against the Raiders to date, and I think he’s doing a good job of compartmentalizing everything and hitting the reset button going into each week,” Johnson said. “I’ve said it before that those corners, they have to have short memories.

“Sometimes, you’re left on an island for 12 plays and no action comes your way, and then all of a sudden, something comes your way, and if it’s a bad play, you have to be able to erase it. If it’s a good play, same thing, you have to turn onto the next one. He’s done a nice job getting that mental toughness up to the point where he can block out all that outside noise and continue to stay consistent with both his process on a weekly basis, but also within a game.”

Stevenson earned Pro Football Focus’s highest run defense (90.1), pass coverage (93.3) and overall defensive grade (92.7) among corners in Week 4, on his way to making PFF’s All-Week 4 Team alongside Byard.

“The best thing that I could do is just show that I’m one of the top corners in this league,” Stevenson said. “And that’s what the last two weeks have been—just me diving within myself and proving to the world that I am who I say I am.”

He feels good about where he’s at, and although he said going back to Washington means “nothing” and his only job is to be the No. 1 corner for the Bears on Monday night, there’s no doubt this game would mean more than that if Chicago walks away with a win, due in part to the play of Stevenson.