Refs prevent Bears' D.J. Moore from making ultimate history
It's only taken a few weeks for the NFL world to see why the Chicago Bears traded for D.J. Moore back in the spring, especially after his bonkers performance against the Washington Commanders. Moore was a monster all night long, recording eight receptions for 230-yards and not one, not two, but three touchdowns. He immediately […]
It's only taken a few weeks for the NFL world to see why the Chicago Bears traded for D.J. Moore back in the spring, especially after his bonkers performance against the Washington Commanders.
Moore was a monster all night long, recording eight receptions for 230-yards and not one, not two, but three touchdowns. He immediately started the game on fire, catching his first two targets for 78-yards and a touchdown. That proceeded to turn into a dominant first half where he finished with five receptions for 137-yards and two touchdowns. The direct result was a 27-3 halftime lead for the Bears.
He capped off the night with a stellar 56-yard touchdown that sealed the victory. In all, it was easily the best game for a wideout in Bears history.
"He's just an amazing athlete to be able to take that ball," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said after the game. "I mean just, the way he catches and concentrates. The guy tried to step in front of it, and he just has great concentration. And that's every day he's like that, you know, so he's a true pro. He's our hardest worker, which is really, really cool to say, because he's a really good player. And he's a great example to model after.”
But, it could've been one of the best games ever for a wide receiver in NFL history. Except, the refs made a really strange call when they said Moore stepped out of bounds on what would've been a 61-yard touchdown. In reality, however, it doesn't look like Moore stepped out of bounds, at all. And even worse is the fact that we were never shown a replay that confirmed/denied the call.
“That really pissed me off because I was about to score," said Moore. "I could’ve had four touchdowns. I mean the ref has to do his job but at the same time, it is what it is. We got the win so I’m not too mad on it.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to comment on that. I’m not going to comment on that one," said Eberflus.
If the refs let everything play out, then Moore's final stat line would've read 8/261/4, which is an absolutely insane stat line. It's so insane, in fact, that Moore would've been the first receiver in NFL history since the AFL-NFL merger to finish a game with at least eight receptions, 260 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns, per Stathead. The only other receiver to ever meet that threshold is the infamous (?) Cloyce Box, who recorded 12 receptions for 302 yards and four touchdowns while playing for the Detroit Lions back in 1950.
It's very doubtful Moore's gloves go into the NFL's Hall of Fame, either, because there have been eight other receivers with games of at least 8/230/3 since the AFL-NFL merger.
Yea, it sucks that Moore was robbed of an even better night, but like he said, the Bears got the dub, so all is well.
The best part is this team took care of business when it had to. On the road, nonetheless. And, it looks like things are starting to come together after a very rough start to the season.
"He’s [Moore's] just getting warmed up," Bears safety Jaquan Brisker said after the game. "Like I said, they found their identity and it’s going to get scary. I'm going to stand on what I said in the beginning. Number 1 [QB Justin Fields] and 2 [WR DJ Moore], [WR Darnell] Mooney and those guys, it’s going to get scary pretty soon. We just have to keep going and do what we do.”
