Cubs News: Kmet says Hail Mary play was a good lesson to "respect the game" |
CHICAGO - Yesterday was National Tight Ends day, but you would not know it by watching the Chicago Bears in their 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders. After having 70 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Chicago’s last game in London, tight end Cole Kmet was targeted just once against the Commanders.
Kmet has never been one to mince words. Talking to the media Monday after Chicago’s loss where they failed to put up any points until less than a minute was left in the third quarter, Kmet admitted that the offense looked “terrible” against the Commanders. “We played terrible football offensively for two and a half, three quarters … It was not good and as players, we did not execute well at all and we need to be better and the plays were out there. But, we got to execute better. That’s just plain and simple. So, we got to be better in that regard,” Kmet said. “But, to have the resiliency and to have our defense keep playing the way they were playing to keep us in the game and then for us to respond down two scores, to come back and take the lead with (20) something seconds left I think is a great thing and something that we can build on going forward. (The) result wasn’t what we want and (we) are in a results-based league. So, it is what it is. But, we got to be able to move on from it and move on to (the) Arizona (Cardinals).” Despite how terrible Chicago’s offense played, they had a lead with 19 seconds left in the game. They had a lead with two seconds left and it ultimately came down to a 52-yard hail mary. Bears fans know the end result - Washington completed the miracle hail mary to give them the 18-15 win. But what surfaced afterwards added insult to injury. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was not even paying attention to the play; he was too busy waving his arms at the crowd during the play. He also made the tip that resulted in the game-winning touchdown for the Commanders. Kmet believes this will be a good lesson for Stevenson going forward, as well as the rest of the team. “I think it’s really a good lesson for everybody to learn from in terms of how to respect the game and I think we had examples of that throughout the game and quite frankly throughout the week of practice this past week where there’s moments where maybe some guys lay off here and there and those are the type of things that can happen when you do that for just a split second and it doesn’t always come to bite you in the butt,” Kmet said. “But when it does, it hurts and that’s the unfortunate, and I would also say, beauty of this game is that you disrespect it in a certain way and it’ll come to haunt you in some form or fashion. So, I think it’s a learning experience for everybody. We all play with a lot of passion. Tyrique plays with a lot of passion and we all love him for that. But, there’s definitely a respect level of the game and knowing that you got to finish it out until those double zeros hit the clock.” Kmet has seen a lot of things in his time as a Chicago Bear. Chicago has lost a lot of games during his time with the team and has faced a lot of adversity. This is another painful character in the adversity the Bears will have to overcome. Kmet feels this latest bout of adversity will be a lesson for the whole team, although he says he still has faith in the coaching staff. “When you lose, your initial feeling, I think as anybody, is to want to deflect blame or point fingers elsewhere. But, We got done watching the tape. I’ve watched the tape now five or six times. We as players did not play well in that game. We have to execute better. We have to be better in all facets and we just weren’t good enough. There were plays out there,” Kmet said. “So, all those things were there for the taking, but we just didn’t execute well enough throughout the majority of the game. Now, down the stretch, we did some good things and they were able to get back in it. But, I thought the plan that we had offensively was good. We just (didn’t) execute very well. So, I don’t think any of us really came away from that game having any less faith in the coaching staff and what we got going on here or the culture that we have growing. At the end of the day, it just came down to one play and unfortunately, the ball just literally bounced their way at the final seconds.”
