Former Bear has advice for Tyrique Stevenson before returning to play Commanders

In Week 8 of last season, the Washington Commanders trailed the Chicago Bears 15-12 and got set for a Hail Mary from their own 48-yard line. Quarterback Jayden Daniels scrambled around long enough to make Bears fans more and more nervous the longer he did so, then he let it fly toward the end zone.

The pass was tipped in the air, and Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown caught it for the winning touchdown.

A video later revealed Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was distracted by fans as that final play started. He was able to recover and join the action, but he was very late on the scene and made the fateful tip that went right to Brown.

That loss was the turning point in the Bears' 2024 season. The went on to lose nine more games in a row, as a promising 4-2 start dissolved into a dysfunction-ridden 5-12 final mark. The Commanders went on to reach the NFC Championship Game.

On Monday night, the Bears will be back in the Washington D.C area to take on the Commanders. Like last year, it's the first game after their bye and a game that looks like it could be important to how the rest of the season goes.

For Stevenson, it'll be a return to the scene of a moment that will be a mark on his career however long it goes. How big a mark it stays as will be determined by how he performs in the remaining years of his career, but it will be something people always remember.

When he talked to the media during the week leading into Monday night's game, Stevenson was incredibly candid about the difficulty of that bad moment from nearly a year ago.

"It was harsh," Stevenson said, via ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "It hurt my feelings. That's the best way I can explain it. It just hurt my feelings being a football player and having one of those mistakes that's going to linger around. Even when my son grows up, I've got to explain that to him. It definitely hurt. But just use it as fuel."

Former Bear gives Tyrique Stevenson sound advice before return to play the Commanders

Stevenson is doing his best to put that bad moment behind him this season, while serving as the Bears' No. 1 cornerback with Jaylon Johnson out for the foreseeable future. He is Pro Football Focus' 13th highest-graded corner heading into Week 6, with the second-best run defense grade at the position (90.0).

But if he has a rough outing in the return trip to Washington, that nice start will quickly be for naught.

In the immediate aftermath of it, and even now if they wish to hang onto it, fans can critique Stevenson for his bad moment a year ago all they want to. But he appears to have the support of his teammates and coaches, and it's nice when people outside the organization who have "been there" can lend perspective.

Olin Kreutz made his regular appearance on 670 The Score's "Spiegel and Holmes on Friday. Co-host Laurence Holmes asked the former Bears' center what he would say as a teammate if Stevenson asked him for advice about going back to the scene of last year's moment.

"Yeah, first, he's got to forgive himself", Kreutz said.

Kreutz then moved beyond hypothetical advice to praise Stevenson.

"I'll tell ya right now, guys...I don't know if you guys agree with this. He hasn't just been good the last two weeks; he's been their best defensive player."

Kreutz moved onto his personal experience as player trying to get past a mistake, like Stevenson is trying to do now.

"Like you said, Laurence, as you guys know very well, and anybody who wants to Google me, I made my own share of...plenty of mistakes, man", Kreutz said. "And you overcome 'em, and you come back in, and you forgive yourself. Because, I'll tell ya what? I'm sure his teammates have (forgiven him). They don't even think about it."

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As Kreutz went on to note, no player who has been in the NFL for a noticeable length of time has avoided making a big mistake. Stevenson's big mistake especially lands as a moment he learned to never let his focus go astray. Back in the place it happened, and in a rare schedule turn approaching a year to the day since, he'll get a chance at redemption on the Monday night stage.