DJ Moore was already having a big game for the Bears in Washington, but it could have potentially been bigger if not for a call from officials in the third quarter.
The receiver, who had snagged two touchdowns in the first half against the Commanders, appeared to have at least a chance at a third with under a minute to go in the third in the Bears’ 40-20 win over the Commanders on Thursday night in Landover, Md.
On a second-and-10 from the Chicago 37-yard line, quarterback Justin Fields fired a quick strike to Moore on the far side of the field.
Avoiding a tackle from Emmanuel Forbes Jr., Moore scampered up the field 32 yards along the sideline before officials ruled him out of bounds before he had the chance to continue running.
Moore seemed beside himself and jumped up and down four times, seemingly annoyed that he didn’t get the chance to run even further.
The Bears’ drive soon stalled out, as they settled for a 43-yard field goal from Cairo Santos.
Some fans on social media felt Moore was robbed of a longer gain on the close call.
“I didn’t think he stepped out…” wrote one user on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We sure he stepped out?” another wrote.
Another user was worried about the fantasy football implications of a potential missed call.
“DJ Moore wasn’t out of bounds and that would have been a 15 point play for me and I’m sick,” wrote another.
Another had an idea how the officials should’ve handled the call, whether Moore was out of bounds or not.
“I still think they should always air on the side that he DIDNT step out… rule it a touchdown, and then go back and review it to see if he did step out. That would’ve possibly changed how this game played out,” the X user suggested.
Moore’s first half, however, seemed to have the stats you usually would see after a full game.
The 26-year-old picked up five catches for 137 yards with two touchdowns.
For context, Moore had just two total full games in his career with more receiving yards than he did in Thursday night’s first two quarters.
Moore, late in the fourth quarter, did indeed add a third touchdown and recorded 230 yards for the game, setting a career high.
It surpassed his Week 4 effort when he tallied 131 receiving yards against the Broncos.