Bears wide receiver DJ Moore was a much bigger factor in Week 15 than he was in Week 14.
Moore had one catch that lost four yards in the Bears’ loss to the Packers in Week 14 and head coach Ben Johnson said after the game that the intent was for Moore to have more of an impact on the proceedings. Moore accomplished that against the Browns this Sunday.
Quarterback Caleb Williams hit Moore for a short touchdown in the first quarter and then drilled a 22-yard score to the wideout while scrambling in the third quarter of what ended as a 31-3 Bears win. Moore finished the day with four catches for 69 yards and said it was “about damn time” that he had that kind of performance.
“He’s been playing this way every week,” Johnson said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. “It’s just we haven’t been able to get the ball in his hands. We were able to target him a few more times, and he came through with some big plays for us. Sometimes these things come in bunches. You kind of have a dry spell, and then all of a sudden, he could come on hot here over the next three games and just really take off. That’s the way it tends to happen, which would be a good thing for us.”
Rome Odunze aggravated a foot injury working out before the game and Luther Burden injured his ankle during the contest, so Moore’s contributions were even more significant to the Bears’ cause. That will remain the case in Week 16 when Moore tries for a bigger day in a home game against the Packers that will go a long way toward determining who wins the NFC North.
