Tyrique Stevenson's recent struggles suggest a change is needed for Bears' defense

The Chicago Bears have slowly but surely been limiting the snaps of Tyrique Stevenson.

It actually started during the Washington Commanders game before the Haily Mary, but since then, Terell Smith has seen an increased role in Stevenson's place. 

Smith played 14.9% of the snaps against Washington, then played 15.5% against New England.

While the Hail Mary play may have accelerated this change, it also may have been something that was coming. Even last year, Smith played about half as many snaps, but his per-snap numbers looked better than Stevenson's.

To be fair, Stevenson has nearly 230 more snaps in coverage than Smith, so the sample size is a bit off. Still, this year Stevenson has allowed 1.6 yards per snap and 7.9 yards per target, per PFF.

Tyrique Stevenson has regressed in his second season with the Bears.

Last year, Stevenson allowed 1.5 yards per snap and 5 yards per target, so he has gotten worse in these areas. While Smith's sample size is small, he allows 0.5 yards per snap and 3.8 yards per target. Even with a bigger sample, last year Smith had about the same name of snaps as Stevenson did this year. He allowed 0.9 yards per snap and 5.5 yards per target. 

Stevenson is not only responsible for the Hail Mary play, but he has not been a productive player in coverage and has looked worse than last year. Beyond that, he has had penalty issues. 

Smith may not be the answer, but every time that he has stepped on the field he has impressed, and all of his metrics on the field look better than Stevenson. 

It would be one thing to not bench Stevenson for his antics if he was far and away a star player, but he may not even be better than the player behind him on the depth chart. The Bears should try giving Smith a chance to start to end the season and see if this small sample success turns into a legitimate coverage cornerback.