Windy City Gridiron
Entering the Week 14 contest against the Packers, the Bears found themselves without their best Wideout on the season – Rome Odunze. This led many to come to the conclusion that DJ Moore might finally break out of a season long slump. Instead, he finished with an abysmal stat line of 1 catch for -4 yards.
Since his 5 reception, 64 yard, and 2 TD game against Pittsburgh, Moore has had 3 receptions for 13 yards on 8 targets. In fact, Moore has not eclipsed the 100 yard mark in a game since Week 11 of last season.
So what is going on? Is it his connection with Caleb? Is it the new offense? Or has his effort dropped?
In an otherwise positive year for the Chicago Bears, the steady decline of one of their best weapons has been curious. His per game average sits at 3 receptions, 38 yards, and 0.23 TD – a far cry from his 2023 numbers where he had 5.6 receptions, 80 yards, and 0.47 TDs per game.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why Moore’s production has dropped so precipitously, but to me it looks like a chemistry issue with Caleb. During most games, I simply see Caleb looking to other targets before looking Moore’s direction. This is clear when you see the target distribution with Rome Odunze seeing 7.5 targets per game vs. Moore’s 5 average.
Add in the fact that rookies Luther Burden and Colston Loveland have received a combined 42 targets in the last two contests, and it’s easy to see DJ Moore’s role reducing while younger players earn more of Williams’ attention.
While a lot of his decline in production can be chalked up to his connection with the QB, his usage in Ben Johnson’s offense also deserves some question. DJ Moore’s touches are getting more predictable as his ability to get open in downfield routes worsens – he ranks 60th among eligible pass catchers in open rate per ESPN’s analytics. This means he is schemed the ball more frequently with bubble screens and rushing attempts. In fact, Moore leads the league in rushing attempts among WRs at 14.
It’s discouraging to see a player with as much talent as Moore struggle to find his footing in an ascending offense, and it calls into question his long term fit with the Bears. The best we can hope for is that he finds a little bit of that 2023 magic for his first career postseason appearance.
