D.J. Moore stats today: Bears WR explodes for three touchdown performance — which maybe should have been four

Edward Sutelan

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D.J. Moore stats today: Bears WR explodes for three touchdown performance — which maybe should have been four image

Three touchdowns is already an impressive night. And if it weren't for a questionable call, the Bears top wide receiver might have had one moore.

D.J. Moore was crucial to the Bears snapping a 14-game losing streak that extended to the previous season, serving as the prime target for Justin Fields in Chicago's 40-20 win against the Commanders on "Thursday Night Football." Fields finished the game having completed 15-of-29 passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns.

Only two other players caught passes from the Bears on Thursday: Cole Kmet for 42 yards and a touchdown on five catches and Robert Tonyan for 10 yards on two catches.

So how well then did Moore do? Here's a look at his numbers from the day.

MORE: Bears snap losing streak behind Moore's career night

D.J. Moore stats today

Moore, the only Bears wide receiver to catch a pass on Thursday, had himself a near-record-setting day. He caught eight of 10 targets for 230 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first three-touchdown game of his career, and the most single-game receiving yards for the six-year wide receiver.

It did not take long for Moore to get heavily involved in the game. He caught a 58-yard pass on the team's first drive of the game, then after two plays that equaled a loss of four, he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Fields after finding himself wide-open in the end zone to put Chicago up 7-0.

The team's third drive, Fields was back at it throwing to his favorite target, hitting Moore first for 39 yards, then five plays later, finding him in the end zone over the head of a leaping defender for an 11-yard touchdown score.

The final touchdown for the Bears was also the final nail for the Commanders. Facing a third-and-2 from the Bears' 44 with 4:09 left, Fields fired a rifle over the head of the Washington defender into the hands of Moore, who turned and streaked down the sideline for a 56-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 17 points and putting the game well out of reach.

It should come as no surprise that when Fields is looking for a receiver, he's going to target No. 2. According to NFL researcher Tony Holzman-Escareno, the Bears quarterback has a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Moore, having completed 26-of-33 passes for 475 yards and four touchdowns.

Did D.J. Moore step out of bounds?

It certainly looked early like Moore could have been picking up his third touchdown of the game well before the final four minutes of the game. Late in the third quarter, Moore caught a pass from Fields and darted down the sideline.

From there, it appeared Moore might be off to the races again. He had a blocker in front of him, only two defenders to beat, and he looked to be cruising. However, it was ruled that Moore had stepped out at the Washington 31, holding his catch to a gain of 32 yards.

On the replay, it certainly looked like Moore had not stepped out of bounds, with several calling out the early whistle on Moore's run.

"That really p—d me off because I was about to score, I could've had four touchdowns and I mean the ref's got to do his job, but at the same time, it is what it is, we got the win so I'm not too mad on it," Moore said after the game.

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.