Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson walked into the Bears locker room at Halas Hall on Wednesday afternoon and laughed a little when he saw what waited for him. As soon as he had turned a corner into the room, Stevenson found a couple TV cameras waiting for him in front of his locker.

Once he got to his locker and reporters swarmed around him, someone asked if Stevenson was not thrilled to be talking about what he knew was going to be asked about once again.

“Not at all,” Stevenson said. “But here we are today. I’m here for all questions to give y’all answers.”

The answers reporters looked for were to an infamous play that’s become the lowlight of Stevenson’s three-year career.

Stevenson went viral online last season when video showed him engaging with fans against the Washington Commanders just as the final play started. The moment ended with Stevenson running back and batting a pass by Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels that Noah Brown caught in the end zone. The lapse helped Washington complete a 52-yard Hail Mary in the last seconds and win 18-15.

A year has passed and a new coaching staff came into town. Stevenson addressed the moment every single time he’s been asked about it and has tried to move on with his career. But there’s still a part of him where it still hurts when he thinks about the play.

“It still hurts, because at the end of the day I’m a football player and the last thing I wanna do is have a play that’s not so good and my name be memorable,” Stevenson said. “On top of all the good things I did it could overshadow that. Just use it as motivation to come out and stay focused on all tasks and definitely, definitely learn to wait until the clock hits double-zeroes. Just use that as a learning curve to mature and be the cornerback that this team needs.”

Stevenson called the aftermath of that play “harsh,” saying it hurt his feelings. The play is something that’s lingered with him and something he’ll have to explain to his son one day.

But it also helped him grow as a person and a football player. Stevenson embraced the moment and tried to learn from it, why it happened and what he, as well as other future players, needed to do to make sure it didn’t happen again.

What started as one of the worst moments in his career turned into a life lesson.

“I definitely appreciate that, because I would have never changed,” Stevenson said. “I had success with my mindset and what I was doing at that time. And I felt like with that situation it was just preparing me to grow and to mature and to be able to set whatever situation that comes with this game, and be able to stand on 10 and stand and look these men in the face when things don’t go my way.”

It’s also something that he’s used as fuel this season to play up to his potential.

After a slow start to the season, Stevenson found his true self in the Bears’ last two games. Stevenson made an impressive play in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys when he forced a fumble on a long run down the sidelines and recovered it before going out of bounds. He also made an impressive interception against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4 to set up a Bears touchdown.

Stevenson totaled one interception, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and four passes defended in the past two games.

“I think he’s doing a good job of compartmentalizing everything and hitting the reset button going into each week,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “I’ve said it before that those corners, they have to have short memories. Sometimes you’re left on an island for 12 plays and no action comes your way and then all of a sudden something comes your way. If it’s a bad play, you gotta be able to erase it and if it’s a good play, same thing. You’ve got to turn on to the next one. I think he’s done a nice job of getting that mental toughness up to a point to where he can block out all that outside noise and continue to stay consistent with both his process on a weekly basis but also within a game.”

Stevenson told reporters that Monday’s game doesn’t mean anything to him. He’s focused on keeping up the team’s 1-0 mentality. If he hears from Commanders fans about the infamous play, he’ll be focused on his teammates, whom he feels he owes his undivided attention.

“It still hurts, because at the end of the day I’m a football player and the last thing I wanna do is have a play that’s not so good and my name be memorable. On top of all the good things I did it could overshadow that. Just use it as motivation to come out and stay focused on all tasks and definitely, definitely learn to wait until the clock hits double-zeroes. Just use that as a learning curve to mature and be the cornerback that this team needs.”

—  Tyrique Stevenson, Bears cornerback

But Stevenson is excited to play Monday night. He wanted to play during the Week 5 bye. Monday will be an opportunity for Stevenson to show who he truly.

“[I] definitely feel good to just have the mojo, have the flow, and that’s pretty much what I feel like this whole team is in,” Stevenson said. “And I definitely feel like the secondary, with how we are attacking the ball, I feel like it’s just going to carry over the rest of the year.”