Tyrique Stevenson had a terrible day at the office. The Bears cornerback gave up game-altering plays in an embarrassing loss for the team that drafted him.

The media gathered around him the following day, looking for an explanation for why he didn’t perform well.

Stevenson stood tall in the face of criticism, explaining execution didn’t meet his standards and that such a showing wouldn’t happen again.

That came in Week 2 after he allowed a perfect passer rating when targeted in a 52-21 loss to the Detroit Lions.

Stevenson said all the right things and responded the right way. He was excellent in the next two games, proving capable of the No. 1 cornerback responsibility handed to him after Jaylon Johnson was lost with a groin/core muscle injury.

The upgraded performance simply was Stevenson realizing his potential. The response to bad was a sign of growth.

Stevenson has done plenty of that over the past year. He’s a father now. He has found stability in his personal life and comfort with a coaching staff that knows how to push him in the right way.

Stevenson always has been a talented player. He’s always has been a passionate one. As we saw last year in Washington, one quality trait can overtake the other and make a mess of both.

We’ve all seen Stevenson at his professional worst, when he was talking trash to Commanders fans as the ball was snapped late in last season’s Week 8 game. Stevenson still was jawing at that point, looking away from the play as Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels roamed the backfield. Stevenson snapped back to reality as the ball was unleashed — but a bit too late to fulfill his role in a Hail Mary defense.

Stevenson overcompensated instead, tipping the pass backward and right to the man he should’ve been covering. Noah Brown caught the touchdown pass to win the game.

All that was caught on video. The result and its aftermath ruined the Bears’ 2024 campaign. They lost 10 straight games. Their head coach and offensive coordinator were fired, and eventually, the Bears hit a hard reset.

No one took more flak than Stevenson.

“It was harsh,” Stevenson said Wednesday. “It hurt my feelings. That’s the best way I can explain it — it just hurt my feelings being a football player and having one of those mistakes that’s going to linger around. Even when my son grows up, I’ve got to explain that to him. It definitely hurt. But just use it as fuel.”

He’ll have to use it for perspective when the Bears return to Northwest Stadium for a Monday night clash with the Commanders.

“Going back to a hostile environment, they’re going to do their best job to rattle me as much as they can,” Stevenson said. “… The best thing I can do is come out here and show these 10 guys (on defense) that I’m locked in and ready to go.”

Staying locked in has been a challenge for Stevenson. He plays right on the edge, with an intensity that serves him well more often than not. There are times, like in Washington last year, where emotion gets the best of him.

That Hail Mary moment, and the aftermath of being benched the following week, wasn’t Stevenson’s finest hour. He became a national talking point in the worst possible way, as a major blunder became a punchline.

Stevenson could’ve caved. Instead, he chose to grow.

“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 (the 10 other defensive players) and stand and look these men in the face when things don’t go my way.”

Stevenson has moved on from last year’s mistake. He has matured. He has grown. But the scars remain, though that’s not a bad thing. They’re reminders of a rock-bottom moment and a benchmark for how far he has come.

“It still hurts, because at the end of the day I’m a football player, and the last thing I want to 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.”