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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Alyssa Barbieri

Preseason provides glimpse of DJ Moore’s impact on Bears offense

I will not overreact to a preseason game. I will not overreact to a preseason game. I will not overreact to a preseason game.

That’s what I kept telling myself after wide receiver DJ Moore took a screen 62 yards to the house on his first catch as a Chicago Bear. And while it’s true we shouldn’t overreact to a preseason game, it doesn’t invalidate the impact Moore should have on this Bears offense.

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When Chicago traded for Moore earlier this offseason, it gave quarterback Justin Fields the No. 1 receiver he hasn’t had during his time with the Bears. And these are the kind of plays that a playmaker like Moore will make.

So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that Moore’s first touch as a Bear was a 62-yard touchdown, a perfectly-executed screen that was beautifully blocked by his teammates.

“As soon as I made a little stutter move, and then I just seen it open,” Moore said. “It was on me to go finish it.”

Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who’s had the pleasure of going against Moore daily in practice, knows exactly what he’s capable of as a playmaker.

“Once he made that first cut, I’m like, ‘He’s gone,'” Stevenson said. “He has that big-play ability whenever he touches the ball anyway. He was saying in practice, like, ‘They not going to tackle me!’ I’m looking at him crazy. He just made me a believer to be.”

There’s been a lot of discourse about the offense’s two explosive touchdowns in their preseason win against the Titans, mostly how it pertains to Fields. And while it’s true that it’s just preseason, it provides a glimpse of what this Bears offense can accomplish when the games start to count.

“You don’t get the stats for the preseason into the regular season, but you get the juice and the hype going into the regular season,” Moore said.

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