DJ Moore continues to battle through adversity and now is shining on the brightest stage for the Bears
He’s starting to step up in a major way for his team.
It’s been a frustrating 2025 season for Chicago Bears veteran wide receiver DJ Moore, who’s on pace for one of his worst statistical seasons since his rookie year with the Carolina Panthers with a lot of outside noise surrounding his future with the team.
Talk really started to heat up after the Week 14 game against the Green Bay Packers when Moore was held to -4 receiving yards on three targets, a game in which second-year wide receiver Rome Odunze was inactive. It was a big moment for Moore to step up and prove himself, but it didn’t work out.
The following week, the Bears aimed to get Moore more involved in the passing game leading to a 69-yard, two touchdown performance against the Cleveland Browns, a nice bounce-back game for Moore. The lights got even brighter for the team’s highest-paid offensive player on Saturday in the rematch against the Packers and he absolutely delivered.
DJ Moore shined in the bright lights against the Packers in Week 16
Saturday’s game was a slow and frustrating start for the Bears’ offense but when it mattered most, the team turned to Moore late in the game to come through for his team. Late in the fourth quarter, needing a touchdown to tie it, Moore went up and hauled in a 20-yard pass, setting the offense up inside the 15-yard-line to eventually force overtime.
In overtime, Moore made the play of the game when quarterback Caleb Williams launched a 46-yard bomb to the end zone, a kill shot to the Packers after leaving Moore one-on-one in coverage.
“Scary,” Moore said when describing the ball up in the air on the final play. “But then I could track the ball and know if I got to slow down or speed up to get to where my hand placement is. So I mean, it was scary, but it was cool.”
The result of the play was a walk-off touchdown that caused a thunderous reaction at Soldier Field and sealed the miracle win for the Bears to extend their lead in the NFC North. It was a great moment for Moore as well, who continued to leave everything out on the field for Chicago.
DJ Moore’s resilience this season needs to be appreciated more
“I always do,” Moore told reporters in the locker room after Saturday’s win. “For this game, there was no getting out of the game. I had no desire to get out and stay hurt… Adrenaline is wearing off, so it’s hurting.”
Early in the game, Moore took a cheap shot from Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon and had to leave the field. However, after missing one play, Moore returned from the sideline and immediately totaled 12-yards on a designed run play.
All season long, Moore has been battling though injuries but refuses to come of the field for this team playing 75+ percent of the offensive snaps in all but one game this year.
“DJ has done a great job of playing through things,” Bears’ offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said way back in October. “He just keeps coming back. A lot of times, you can have a receiver on your team, or a player, that may be higher paid that has a different attitude toward things. He does not. He is one of us and I love the way he competes. I love the way he battles through those things. It’s appreciated by all of us, his effort to be out there and fighting with his guys.”
Coming through in big moments is appreciated by the entire team as well. Moore is starting to really heat up at the right time for this team and is someone Chicago will need to rely on if they want to make some serious noise after clinching a spot in the playoffs.
Chicago Bears News
Film Breakdown: Ben Johnson went for another kill shot with the perfectly executed call in the biggest moment against the Packers
The walk-off TD to DJ Moore felt like a true miracle for the Chicago Bears.
