Bears wide receiver DJ Moore is so smooth and efficient, he routinely makes difficult catches look easy — in traffic, near the sideline, in the end zone, deep or short, and when his quarterback needs him most. That’s just what he does.
But even Moore admitted his over-the-shoulder catch for a 32-yard gain in the Bears’ 37-17 victory over the Falcons on a snowy Sunday at Soldier Field was difficult even for him. Running full speed down the left sideline against Falcons cornerback AJ. Terrell, Moore initially looked back toward quarterback Justin Fields, then had to twist his head to his left and look skyward to find the ball — and make a bread-basket catch as he headed out of bounds at the Falcons’ 33-yard line.
“The snow kind of got in my way, so I had to track it and then, like blind-catch it,” Moore said. “I was looking. But I was like, ‘I’m just gonna trust myself to catch this’ and I did it. I was like, ‘Oh, thank goodness I caught this.’”
Four plays later, Fields scored on on a nine-yard run to give the Bears a 14-0 lead.
That catch was the kind of play Moore was brought here to make. And it was part of another big game — nine receptions for 159 yards and one touchdown — that was a timely and fitting celebration of the trade for Moore that officially became a masterstroke Sunday.
Moore has exceeded the highest of expectations under intense scrutiny in a town desperate for passing offense — he has 92 receptions for a career-high 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns. And the Panthers’ first-round draft pick that came with Moore became the No. 1 overall pick when the Panthers (2-14) lost and the Cardinals (4-12) won Sunday.
“He’s really unbelievable,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “He’s a guy that when he’s covered, he’s really not covered. … He opens up a lot for us offensively.”
Moore’s impact can’t be overstated. His performance turned what probably would have been a taffy-pull — or worse — into a comfortable Bears victory. And it took Fields’ game to another level.
Fields’ 268 passing yards against the Falcons was his third-highest total this season, behind two games that also featured Moore’s excellence — 335 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos, when Moore had eight catches for 131 yards and the touchdown; and 282 yards and three touchdowns against the Commanders, when Moore had eight catches for 230 yards and all three touchdowns.
“I love him here. He makes my job way easier,” Fields said. “See him [with] one-on-one coverage, he’s most likely open. The way he’s dedicated his time to this team, to learn the playbook and make plays like he has, has been great for us. Hats off to him and I’m glad he’s my teammate.”
Moore was every bit the difference-maker Sunday. He helped set a tone with a 32-yard catch over the middle on the Bears’ first play from scrimmage. Six plays later, Moore caught a seven-yard touchdown pass from Fields against tight coverage from Falcons safety Jessie Bates in the corner of the end zone that was just how the big boys do it — great call, great throw, great catch.
“It was just late hands,” Moore said of that catch. “I knew Jessie was going to undercut it and when I saw [the ball] in the air, I was like, ‘Please don’t put your hands up.’ And I just put my hands up late. I practice that a lot against our defense [and] they’d be mad about it. And I know he [Bates] was made about it.”
Frustrating a defense like the Falcons — who came in sixth in the NFL in scoring defense — is another step in the right direction for the Bears. And it’s not a coincidence that Moore is leading the way.
“It’s been great,” he said of his season with the Bears. “I’m glad to be here and look to stay here.”
