Hail Mary, full of grace — if after interceding on behalf of the sick and the poor, can you please cause the Chicago Bears to lose their minds so we can pull out this football game? – Sincerely, the Washington Commanders.
Whether due to divine intervention or not Sunday, a Bears cornerback named Tyrique Stevenson made a surreal mental mistake that spun the football world out of orbit and gifted the Commanders with a victory.
As Stevenson jawed at fans while standing in the end zone, Washington’s offense snapped the ball at midfield, beginning its attempt to complete a game-winning Hail Mary pass in the game’s final seconds.
The entire football world has seen what happened next.
Stevenson hurries over to the end-zone scrum where Jayden Daniels’ moon-shot pass is headed.
Jumping amid several players, true to his impressive vertical leap of 38 1/2 -inches at the NFL Scouting Combine, the 6-foot-½, second-year NFL cornerback tips the ball backward…to a Commanders receiver.
Unguarded, the receiver catches the floater for the winning points.
The name of the Hail Mary’s recipient? Noah.
Almost as bewildering as Stevenson’s in-game jawing with the fans was this: a passel of Bears defensive backs who outnumbered Commanders receivers neglected to cover Noah Brown, who stood beyond the ball’s flight path as other players converged.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus confirmed Monday that, yes, someone was supposed to cover Brown.
That someone was Stevenson.
The cornerback posted a social media apology for his mistakes.
But Stevenson, 24, was not alone in erring.
The soft defense the Bears played on the final drive was less than desirable and out of character for one of the NFL’s better defensive units.
Before Washington’s final snap with 2 seconds left, Eberflus could have called a timeout. He had three of them. Would the timeout have resulted in better organization? Seems probable. After all, defensive expertise is what got Eberflus the job.
The next time the Bears have to defend a Hail Mary pass, Eberflus ought to add receiver Keenan Allen to the secondary. At 6-foot-2 and excellent at reading and reacting to passes, the former San Diego Chargers star was an all-state safety in North Carolina and recruited by Nick Saban to play that position at Alabama.
The final-drive collapse by a good Bears D recalled the infamous “13 seconds” face-plant by a good Bills D three years ago in the AFC Divisional game at Kansas City.
Like the Bears, the Bills had a defensive expert as their head coach, Sean McDermott.
Giving Eberflus Bears some solace, McDermotts defenses have responded well to that numbing defeat.
The Bears (4-3) will try to bounce back Sunday against the Cardinals (4-4), while the NFC East-leading Commanders (6-2) face the Giants in New Jersey.
Great coaching
Andy Reid probably won’t win the coach of the year award this season for the same reason he hasn’t won it more often. Voters prefer to reward coaches of teams whose success defies preseason expectations. Reid’s Chiefs are supposed to win, so it’s not a big deal when they do.
Whether or not voters will reward Reid for it if his team goes on to win a ninth consecutive AFC West title — the preferred first step to winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl — it’s doubtful any other coach has matched Reid’s adaptive work this season. His offense, which is ninth in points scored, has overcome losing its top three receivers and top running back to injuries, in addition to often-subpar play at left tackle.
Defensively, the Chiefs sit fifth in points. Bill Belichick often says that in the NFL, it’s a lot harder to stay on top than to get to the top.
Since Reid took over entering the 2013 season, the Chiefs have the NFL’s best record. They’ve won three of the past four Super Bowls and played in the past six AFC championships. Theyve stayed on top.
My assumption going into most recent NFL seasons is that Reid is the best head coach until proven otherwise. That still stands.
Smart trade?
Belichick was blunt regarding the trade Monday that sent edge rusher Josh Uche from Belichick’s former team to the Chiefs in return for a sixth-round draft pick.
“The Patriots probably should have gotten more for him, Belichick told The Pat McAfee Show.
Uche, 26, spent four seasons under Belichick. Uche is at the end of his contract this year, hell be a free agent,” said the former coach. “If they dont sign him theyll get a comp pick, which will probably be a sixth anyway. Look, Josh Uches a really good rusher. He hasnt had a chance to rush much this year for the Patriots because theyve been behind a lot.”
Uche gives coordinator Steve Spagnuolo another defender capable of pressuring an elusive AFC quarterback such as Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert. In addition, Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu implied on social media hell return this season in his comeback from a torn knee ligament.