As the Bears try to get their passing game off the ground, they have a perennial 1,000-yard wide receiver in DJ Moore ready to explode. Not in a bad way like the Eagles’ A.J. Brown has done amid their struggles, but in the sense that there is highly charged energy ready to ignite.
Moore has the potential to be the most dynamic playmaker in the offense. Bears coach Ben Johnson can line him up inside or outside, he has tremendous grasp of the playbook, he’s reliable as a deep threat or underneath and has even been effective out of the backfield.
But going into the Bears’ game at the Packers on Sunday, Moore is averaging a career-low 41.8 yards receiving per game and 5.3 targets per game, his lowest since the team acquired him. His 38 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns aren’t nearly what he usually puts up, though that doesn’t bother him as the Bears stand atop the NFC North at 9-3.
“It’s irrelevant,” Moore told the Sun-Times after practice Thursday. “I’ve had the great seasons with losing records. Right now I’m just along for this journey and whenever my number gets called, I do my thing.
“I didn’t go into this year looking for numbers. I was just looking for wins. However we win is fine with me. I couldn’t care less what my stats are. My stats are in the win column, so we’re good.”
This will be Moore’s first season playing for a team with a winning record after seven exasperating years with the Panthers and Bears. Fresh off a long practice in 20-degree weather, he said December is “freezing when you’re losing, [but] when you’re winning, you don’t really feel the cold.”
Some of the dip in his production this season was expected as Johnson sought to broaden the attack and make it more unpredictable with more weapons for a defense to monitor, but it also reflects an untapped resource.
In the quest to move the offense forward — “We’re winning in spite of our passing game, not because of it,” Johnson said this week — Moore is essential.
Rome Odunze has made a leap in his second season with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns, but the Bears didn’t draft him with the intention that he’d replace or reduce Moore’s output. The idea was that they’d become an overwhelming duo for quarterback Caleb Williams like the Bengals, Vikings and Eagles have put together with multiple top-tier receivers.
At 28 and very much still in his prime, Moore has a lot to offer. He averaged 1,076 yards over his first seven seasons and remains one of the NFL’s most dangerous runners once he has the ball.
He also has all the qualities of a top receiver without the diva antics. Even with the second-highest salary on the team, he works like anybody else on the roster.
“He is excellent to work with,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “We would love for all of our guys to be flourishing and having success, [and] that’s going to come with the passing game being a little more detailed and improved… I’ve seen a guy that hasn’t wavered at all.”
Moore has impressed the Bears beyond the field this season, and the team announced Thursday he is its Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner. That makes him one of 32 finalists to win the league-wide award in February.
The Bears have endured ups and downs throughout the season and now are looking to level out and find consistency heading toward the playoffs. Getting the passing game to full capacity is high on that list, and they need Moore to do it.
