Video posted on social media showed Stevenson pointing toward the stands and raising his arms in the air with his back to the play when the ball was snapped. He was late to get to the play and missed the chance to prevent Zach Ertz from tipping the ball up for Noah Brown to catch in the end zone.
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“It comes down to that last play and we’ve practiced that play a hundred times since we’ve been here,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. “I’ll have to look at what the execution was on that, but we have a body on a body, boxing guys out like basketball at the very end. We have one guy at the rim that knocks the ball down. We’ve got a tip guy that goes behind the pile. I’ve got to look at it and detail it out and make sure we’re better next time.”
Stevenson later apologized on social media for his actions, saying “improvement will happen.”
The Bears, who were coming off their bye, had their winning streak ended at three. They had just gone ahead with 25 seconds left on Roschon Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown run.
“When you lose a game like that, that’s a tough one to swallow,” Eberflus said. “Was excited how they battled back to have a chance to win that game. It’s important to look at that, too.”
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Stevenson made seven tackles and had one pass defensed earlier in the game. He struggled in coverage as Chicago allowed Jayden Daniels to throw for 326 yards.
There were plenty of problems before the Hail Mary, including Caleb Williams fumbling an exchange with offensive lineman Doug Kramer earlier in the fourth quarter. Williams also at one point took a sack to knock the Bears out of field goal range and went 10 of 24 passing, his fewest completions of his young NFL career.
“I’ve got to be better,” Williams said. “I’ve got to get the ball out of my hands. I’ve got to throw it out of bounds in that situation. The toughest part about the job is you want to go out and make plays and do special things, but you also have to understand that’s the play.”
The New York Jets made some major changes to try to jumpstart a once-promising season that was heading downhill.
Robert Saleh was fired as coach after a 2-3 start, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich changed offensive play callers and the Jets acquired Davante Adams to reunite him with Aaron Rodgers.
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New York is somehow in even worse shape now.
The Jets lost 25-22 on Sunday to a New England team that had lost six straight and was forced to bring in Jacoby Brissett, the quarterback during the Patriots‘ 1-4 start. Brissett, playing after rookie Drake Maye was sidelined with a concussion, led New England to its first home win in more than a year.
And helped send New York to its fifth straight loss — and third in a row under Ulbrich. The Jets are now tied with the Patriots for last place in the AFC East.
“This is a moment of darkness, and we understand that the outside world is going to get really loud right now,” Ulbrich said.
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Added Rodgers: “Yeah, I’ve been in the darkness. You’ve got to go in there, make peace with it.”
Greg Zuerlein missed two kicks — a field goal and an extra point — and the Jets burned through all three first-half timeouts in the first quarter, two of them 44 seconds apart on the same drive.
“On one of them, we were lagging out of the huddle, one I was trying to get the protection right,” said Rodgers, who threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns. “One I felt like we could have gotten off, but it was fine to take it there. Our operation was a little slow at times.”
New York used a timeout after an incomplete pass where Rodgers looked for Garrett Wilson. That timeout would have been handy during the Jets’ final drive that began from their own 30-yard line with 22 seconds remaining.
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Another clock mishap occurred when New York drew a delay of game while lining up for a 2-point conversion after Braelon Allen rushed for a 2-yard touchdown with 2:57 remaining. From the 7, Rodgers completed a pass to the 5 and the attempt failed.
“We’ve got to be better from an operations standpoint, just overall, and that’s every single player, every single coach. That’s Aaron. That’s all of us,” Ulbrich said.
Zuerlein missed an extra-point try in the first quarter, then was wide left on his 44-yard field goal attempt that would have enabled the Jets to pad their 16-14 lead in the fourth quarter. The veteran has missed six field goals this season.
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Ulbrich insisted he didn’t regret sticking with Zuerlein despite his recent misses.
“We’ve got to take a hard look at everything that we do, everything,” Ulbrich said. “It’s not just on Greg, it’s on all of us. We’ll do that this week.”
Haason Reddick’s debut after a lengthy holdout didn’t provide an immediate lift to New York’s defense.
The Jets allowed a Patriots offense that struggled mightily during Brissett’s five-game run as the starting quarterback to reach the end zone twice during the second half. On the winning drive, the Jets allowed the Patriots to convert a third-and-10 as cornerback Sauce Gardner was defending on the 34-yard pass play that moved the ball to the Jets 9-yard line.
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“The NFL is hard. It’s hard to win. Harder when you make it difficult on yourself,” Rodgers said.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is hopeful Callum McGregor will be fit for Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Aberdeen after his captain sat out the 3-0 win over Motherwell. (Scotsman), external
Manager Neil Critchley says Hearts intend to extend the contract of James Wilson after the teenage striker came off the bench to score a late equaliser in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian at Easter Road. (Edinburgh Evening News), external
Ross Graham, Craig Sibbald, Ross Docherty and Louis Moult will remain absent as Dundee United host Motherwell on Wednesday, confirms manager Jim Goodwin. (The Courier), external
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Rangers manager Philippe Clement admits he is not sure if Tom Lawrence or John Souttar will have recovered from injuries to face Aberdeen on Wednesday after the pair missed the 2-1 home victory over St Mirren. (Daily Record), external
A group of Rangers fans continue criticism over uncertainty at board level with a banner at Sunday’s win over St Mirren reading, “your ineptitude is destroying our club, time for fans to force change”. (Scottish Sun), external
Dave Helman sits down to recap the San Francisco 49ers’ narrow victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Within the conversation, Helman makes sure to break down the performances of players such as Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Dak Prescott!
Watch a selection of Bukayo Saka’s best Premier League goals after the Arsenal forward’s strike against Liverpool brought up his half-century in the top flight.
Point spread: Texans -1 (Texans favored to win by more than 1 point, otherwise Jets cover) Moneyline: Texans -118 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $18.47 total); Jets -102 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $19.80 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 43.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Falcons -2.5 (Falcons favored to win by more than 2.5 points, otherwise Cowboys cover) Moneyline: Falcons -135 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $17.41 total); Cowboys +114 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $21.40 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 49 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Bills -6.5 (Bills favored to win by more than 6.5 points, otherwise Dolphins cover) Moneyline: Bills -298 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $13.36 total); Dolphins +240 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $34 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 48.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Bengals -7.5 (Bengals favored to win by more than 7.5 points, otherwise Raiders cover) Moneyline: Bengals -380 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $12.63 total); Raiders +300 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $40 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 45.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Chargers -2.5 (Chargers favored to win by more than 2.5 points, otherwise Browns cover) Moneyline: Chargers -135 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $17.41 total); Browns +114 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $21.40 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 40.5 points scored by both teams combined
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Point spread: Commanders -3.5 (Commanders favored to win by more than 3.5 points, otherwise Giants cover) Moneyline: Commanders -180 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $15.56 total); Giants +150 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $25 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 44 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Saints -6.5 (Saints favored to win by more than 6.5 points, otherwise Panthers cover) Moneyline: Saints -285 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $13.51 total); Panthers +230 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $33 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 45 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Ravens -8 (Ravens favored to win by more than 8 points, otherwise Broncos cover) Moneyline: Ravens -470 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $12.13 total); Broncos +360 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $46 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 44.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Eagles -7.5 (Eagles favored to win by more than 7.5 points, otherwise Jaguars cover) Moneyline: Eagles -355 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $12.82 total); Jaguars +280 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $38 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 47.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Cardinals -1 (Cardinals favored to win by more than 1 point, otherwise Bears cover) Moneyline: Cardinals -112 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $18.93 total); Bears -108 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $19.26 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 45.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Lions -3.5 (Lions favored to win by more than 3.5 points, otherwise Packers cover) Moneyline: Lions -185 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $15.41 total); Packers +154 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $25.40 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 48.5 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Rams -1 (Rams favored to win by more than 1 point, otherwise Seahawks cover) Moneyline: Rams -110 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $19.09 total); Seahawks -110 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $19.09 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 48 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Vikings -7 (Colts favored to win by more than 7 points, otherwise Colts cover) Moneyline: Vikings -340 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $12.94 total); Colts +270 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $37 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 46 points scored by both teams combined
Point spread: Chiefs -8 (Chiefs favored to win by more than 8 points, otherwise Buccaneers cover) Moneyline: Chiefs -425 favorites to win(bet $10 to win $12.35 total); Buccaneers +330 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $43 total) Total scoring Over/Under: 45.5 points scored by both teams combined
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