Bears WR DJ Moore Reacts to Controversial Play-Call, Failed Hail Mary Coverage Vs Commanders

The Chicago Bears offense failed to advance into the red zone until the middle of the fourth quarter during their game against the Washington Commanders. The Bears offense had struggled against the Dan Quinn defense through the first three quarters and only scored on a 56-yard touchdown run from running back D’Andre Swift at the end of the third quarter.

The Bears remained in the game thanks to their defense, which had limited the Commanders to just 12 points to that point. The Bears trailed 12-7 as they came into the red zone, with a legitimate shot of taking the lead for the first time all game.

The Bears drove the ball down to the Commanders’ one-yard line, setting up a third-and-goal opportunity. With a chance to take the lead, the Bears decided to hand the ball off to center Doug Kramer. Kramer fumbled the handoff and the Commanders recovered the football.

The play call was questioned as the Bears could have likely avoided the mistake by handing the ball off to one of their running backs, rather than their center with limited experience rushing the football in one of the most important situations of the game.

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore was in the medical tent while the play was happening, and was surprised by the call.

“I don’t know the reason behind the play call,” Moore said on the “Mully & Haugh Show” on Monday. “It’s been up for a few weeks, but I didn’t think we were actually getting it called in a game like this. When I came out of the tent and just seen him running, I was just like, ‘What the hell happened?'”

Despite fumbling in a critical situation, the Bears managed to score later in the game to take a 15-12 lead. Roschon Johnson carried the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line, leaving the Commanders with just 25 seconds left on the clock.

The Bears simply had to prevent the Commanders from scoring in the final seconds to come away with the win. The Bears were unable to execute. They allowed Jayden Daniels to complete a 13-yard pass to Terry McLaurin and go out of bounds with six seconds left. The completion set up a Hail Mary from Daniels, whose pass toward the end zone was tipped and caught by Noah Brown for a game-winning touchdown.

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Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson received criticism for the mistake after he was seen taunting Commanders fans at the beginning of the play, instead of getting ready for the final play of the game.

Stevenson has since apologized, and Moore acknowledged on “Mully and Haugh”: “That one play doesn’t define him as a player.”

“The captains were talking about how we need to address that … we’ve got to address it as a leadership group in front of the team,” Moore said. “I don’t know (what the punishment will be), that’s not up for us to do. But we can address it as captains, and upstairs will have to do what they’re going to do.

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