Who is to blame for the Chicago Bears Hail Mary loss?

Shane Waldron

As we inch closer to determining who is most responsible for the Chicago Bears' loss to the Commanders, I think it's safe to say many believe Shane Waldron should be on the top of the blaming list. He is not. Instead, he finds himself smack dab in the middle.

The offense became predictable again. They didn't get the running game going early and there wasn't enough play-action. The offensive line struggled to pick up the blitz again and Waldron didn't do anything to change up the protection. Another option could have been to move the pocket. Caleb Williams throws the ball very well on the run, yet the Bears didn't move the pocket until late in the third quarter. Waldron stuck to his game plan and refused to make changes despite poor execution for more than half the game. Even worse was Doug Kramer's attempt at becoming the next William Perry.

Waldron turtled himself back into the same poor playcalling we saw to start the season. I joked on Twitter that Caleb Williams should channel Jim McMahon and just call his own plays. It might need to get to that point if Waldon continues to make these awful decisions.

Tyrique Stevenson

Some of you might be surprised to know that Tyrique Stevenson is not at the top of my blame list. Although he might be at the top of my shame list. What Tyrique Stevenson did on Sunday is inexcusable. I'm glad he apologized to the fans and his teammates. However, that isn't enough.

I tried to give Stevenson a little love after he gave up the deep ball to Terry McLaurin on a go-route. He made a touchdown-saving ankle tackle that kept four points off the board because the defense held their own in the red zone and only allowed a field goal. Stevenson later made a great play on a similar route that stopped McLaurin from making another touchdown catch. Unfortunately, that little bit of goodwill he earned was short-lived due to a lack of self-discipline.

Before the second deep ball to McLaurin, Tyrique Stevenson was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for sticking his fingers through the facemask of Commanders' guard Sam Cosmi. You can tell he was being chirpy and wasn't controlling his emotions. Things only got worse during the final two plays when Stevenson was more concerned with interacting with fans than paying attention to the game. It essentially led to him being out of position on the final play of the game -- the Hail Mary touchdown that gave the Commanders the win.

My apologies for making you re-live that horrible moment, but as I said, Stevenson is not the most to blame for the Bears' loss to the Commanders. That title belongs to...