Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus took a defensive tone during his press conference on Wednesday. Eberflus wanted to look forward to the Bears’ upcoming contest against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
Beat reporters wanted to know one detail about the Week 9 matchup–would cornerback Tyrique Stevenson start against the Cardinals following his actions on the Hail Mary pass that gave the Washington Commanders an 18-15 victory over Chicago in Week 8?
Video of Stevenson turning his back to the snap and taunting Commanders fans before and during the play went viral after the game. Stevenson apologized for the incident on social media Sunday night and to the locker room on Monday.
The Chicago Bears are behind their second-year budding star
Eberflus said he would not reveal his decision on that potential punishment for the second-year cornerback, specifically if Stevenson would start against the Cardinals. The third-year head coach praised Stevenson for his playmaking abilities over the last two seasons.
“We’re behind Tyrique and we’re with him all the way,” Eberflus said.
Tyrique Stevenson was punished on Sunday
Eberflus was asked if it would send a message to the locker room that certain impact players can get away with not adhering to the H.I.T.S philosophy if the Bears decided to let Stevenson go unpunished. Eberflus said Stevenson already suffered a punishment.
“The consequence was that we lost the game,” Eberflus said.
Eberflus appeared to be afraid to speak out against a talented player in a locker room that was busy Sunday and Monday bashing their head coach for poor decisions during the team’s third loss of the season. Instead, Eberflus deflected by saying that he spoke to Stevenson one-on-one, in the same manner he believes players should address him with frustrations about his idiotic in-game decisions (like signing off on giving a 320-pound lineman the ball at the goal line or purposely letting the Commanders get into Hail Mary range).
Eberflus can’t afford to make more enemies on the Bears roster. After going 14-27 with Chicago, he could easily lose the locker room by making a move that alienates a player for making a boneheaded decision one play after Eberflus made a questionable choice on a play he believes “didn’t really matter.”
That’s the state of the Bears “head coach” situation in 2024 with a rookie quarterback watching.
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