Tyrique Stevenson’s 43-yard interception return for the Bears’ go-ahead touchdown Sunday earned the cornerback NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Wednesday.
The second-year player picked off Will Levis’ ill-advised backhanded flip and returned it for a score to cap the Bears’ 17-point comeback in the 24-17 win against the Titans. It was the first time in Stevenson’s NFL career that he’d returned an interception for a touchdown.
“Bonehead play,” Levis said after the game. “Just recency bias from getting away with it the last time I did in the game. Just trying to throw it in the dirt, and when you're getting taken down you don't know what's going to happen with the ball when it comes out. Was really just trying to dirt it … One the things of a lot of the things that I can learn from this game.”
Stevenson earned the honor in Week 17 last year, making him the first Bears player to win the award in each of his first two seasons since Eddie Jackson in 2016-17.
