Bear Digest

Tyrique Stevenson Wins Award and Maybe Soon Respect from QBs

Tyrique Stevenson's second NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award in three Bears games still doesn't convince offenses to steer more toward Jaylon Johnson for a good reason.

Gene Chamberlain

Tyrique Stevenson celebrates with teammates after his game-winning pick-6.
Tyrique Stevenson celebrates with teammates after his game-winning pick-6. / David Banks-Imagn Images
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If Tyrique Stevenson continues at this rate, there may not be many places for opposing quarterbacks to attack the Bears secondary.

Stevenson captured his second NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award in three games.

He won one in Week 17 last season, then Week 1 this season, capping an offseason when he worked to make certain he didn't backslide from his late-season progress of 2023. "For me, I already knew there was no drop off," Stevenson said. "I knew I wanted to come back in and show what I showed last season but times 10, because I put in the work and everything like that."

Stevenson had the 43-yard game-winning pick-6 in the fourth quarter, four tackles, two pass breakups and also allowed a touchdown pass which still irks him.

"I'll be honest, I was upset," he said. "I was upset because it was a play I've made 10 out of 10 with my eyes closed. So it was next-play mentality.

"And the guys didn’t let me come over to the sideline and put my head down either. It was more of a defensive thing. You've got guys telling me, 'Pick your head up.' So I had a short memory, but I was still upset because I knew I could make that play and then I had guys and leaders of this team be able to pick me up and make sure that I finished the game out strong."

The performance not only won an award, it put Stevenson No. 14 in the league after one week in Pro Football Focus' cornerback grades. That meant both of the team's cornerbacks rank in the top 14. Stevenson's Sportradar passer rating against when targeted was 46.3 in the game.

Jaylon Johnson not only lived up to the status he claimed for himself when he called out the NFL.com top-100 player slight, but finished Week 1 the top-ranked cornerback in the league by a good margin with a grade of 92.3.

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With Johnson on one side, Stevenson is going to keep getting tested until he convinces people not to throw in his direction. Five interceptions in his first 17 career games might help.

The Titans challenged Johnson three times and Stevenson nine times.

"I pretty much look at it as an opportunity, waiting for it to happen pretty much because we all know the ball ain't going to Jaylon," Stevenson said. "So this defense is just looking at me to be the guy that I am in practice. Make the plays that come to me, catch the balls that come to me and be able to make sure that I can funnel everything back into this defense because I ain’t no weak link just because there’s an All-Pro corner over there.

"You can just up and throw it over here as you feel like it."

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.