CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears need to make sure one gut-wrenching loss doesn't snowball into a lost season. A team that rolled into its bye with three straight wins is now reeling after falling 18-15 on a Hail Mary touchdown at Washington on Sunday. Between the offense's inability to get going until late in the game, some head-scratching play calls and one huge mental lapse by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson at the end, it all added up to one rough afternoon.
“When you lose, your initial feeling as anybody is to want to deflect blame or point fingers elsewhere,” tight end Cole Kmet said Monday. “But look, we got done watching the tape — I’ve watched the tape five or six times — we as players did not play well in that game.” Caleb Williams and the offense struggled for most of the game before finding a rhythm.
The fact Chicago came out flat plus some play calls that backfired put the coaching staff in the spotlight. The Bears trailed 12-7 in the fourth quarter when they drove to the 1. They opted to give the ball to offensive lineman Doug Kramer, fumbled the handoff and Washington recovered.
Chicago took its first lead on their its drive when Roschon Johnson scored from the 1 with 25 seconds remaining. But instead of a narrow win, they came away with a brutal loss. Stevenson getting caught on social media motioning to the crowd and having his back turned as the Commanders snapped the ball on Jayden Daniels' Hail Mary to Noah Brown drew the headlines.
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