Coming into last night’s contest, the Commanders were heavy favorites to win vs. the Bears. Chicago had not won in 14 straight games, a record that started in October of 2022. The Bears put together their best performance of the season and the offense exploded for 460 total yards.
Having the strongest game of any player last night was first-year Bear, D.J. Moore. The 26-year-old had eight catches for 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Moore was making big plays for the Bears all night and had over 80 percent of the Bears’ total receiving yards. This was a statement win for Chicago and D.J. Moore’s coming out party as the unquestioned #1 target for Justin Fields. While it’s only their first win, this is a game the Bears can build off of.
The Bears handily beat the Commanders on the road, 40-20 to start Week 5
D.J. Moore is just the 5th player in NFL history with 500+ receiving yards and 5+ TD in his first 5 games with a team.
Seems good pic.twitter.com/kRRLF4URUi
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 6, 2023
This offseason, the Chicago Bears traded their #1 overall pick in the 2023 Draft to the Panthers in exchange for D.J. Moore this offseason. In five seasons with Carolina, Moore averaged (65.0) yards per game. Since joining the Bears, the former first-round pick has had some strong performances. None were bigger than the game he had in Week 5 vs. the Commanders.
On the season, Moore now had 27 catches for 531 yards and five touchdowns. That is an average of (106.2) receiving yards per game. If Moore can play 17 games this season and keep up the pace he’s on, he’s looking at close to 1,800 receiving yards. That would break Brandon Marshall’s record of 1,508 yards that he set in 2012.
Every DJ Moore highlight from tonight: pic.twitter.com/5BkPmARaXk
— edits841 (@edits841) October 6, 2023
Additionally, Moore might have been robbed of his fourth touchdown of the night. He caught a pass late in the third quarter and was ruled out of bounds. A replay was never shown on the TV, but it was clear on social media that he never stepped out. It was a bad call from the ref and Moore could have had four touchdowns and 300+ receiving yards. Despite that, he still gave the Bears elite production in Week 5 and his connection with Fields is starting to grow. Certainly, some optimism moving forward for Chicago.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
