Bears CB sorry for the rant before the unfortunate Hail Mary

LANDOVER, Md. — Chicago Bears cornerback Tyreek Stevenson apologized Sunday night after he was seen taunting the Washington crowd seconds before he and his teammates gave up a Hail Mary touchdown as time expired in an 18-15 loss to the Commanders.

Video posted on social media showed Stevenson pointing towards the stands and raising his arms in the air with his back to play as the ball was snapped. He was late on the play then tipped the ball up, only for Washington wideout Noah Brown to catch it in the end zone.

“My apologies to Chicago and teammates for the lack of awareness and focus,” Stevenson wrote on social media. “The game isn't over until the clock hits zero. Nothing can be taken for granted. Take note, progress will happen.”

My apologies to Chicago and teammates for the lack of awareness and focus….the game is not over until zero hits the clock. Can't take anything for granted. Taking notes, improvement will happen. #beard down

— Tyreek Stevenson (@dreamchaserTy10) October 28, 2024

The Bears, who were coming off their bye, saw their winning streak end at three.

“It comes down to that last play, and we've practiced that play a hundred times since we've been here,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “I'll have to see what the execution was, but we've got a physical, basketball-like boxing guys at the very end. We've got a guy at the rim that knocks the ball away. We've got a tip guy that goes behind the pile. I've got to see that and It needs to be detailed and make sure we're better next time.”

The Bears went ahead with 25 seconds left on a 1-yard touchdown run by Roschon Johnson.

“When you lose a game like that, it's hard to swallow,” Eberflus said. “I was excited about how they fought back to have a chance to win that game. That's important to see as well.”

Stevenson had seven tackles and a pass defense earlier in the game. He struggled in coverage as Chicago allowed Jayden Daniels to throw for 326 yards.

There were plenty of problems for the Bears before the Hail Mary, including rookie quarterback Caleb Williams suffering an exchange with offensive lineman Doug Kramer Jr. early in the fourth quarter. Williams also had a sack at one point to knock Chicago out of field goal range. He went 10 of 24 passing for the fewest completions of his career thus far.

“I've got to get better,” Williams said. “I've got to get the ball out of my hands. I've got to get it out of bounds in those situations. The hardest part of the job is you want to go out and make a play and make something special, but you also have to understand it's a play.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.