The Chicago Bears' offense has looked much better under Ben Johnson. However, it's not like the bar was high. If anything, as improved as it's been, it still feels like they're not making the most of some of their talents.
That has especially been the case with DJ Moore. Once projected to be the primary pass catcher and have a breakout campaign in Johnson's offense, he's been little more than a premium decoy this season. Notably, Sunday's 30-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens showed that it might all be on Caleb Williams.
Caleb Williams Needs to Get DJ Moore Involved
Moore was the lone bright spot in the passing game on Sunday. He turned seven targets into four receptions for 73 yards, including a huge first down on third and seven and an even bigger first down to set up first and goal in the fourth quarter.
Williams then missed Moore running wide open in the end zone on second and goal in a drive that ended without points. Notably, it wasn't the only time Williams either missed Moore or didn't even acknowledge him while going through his progressions.
We've already seen that Williams tends to make bad decisions when he's hurried. His tendency to play hero-ball or go for the home run on every dropback has hurt the passing game, and especially DJ Moore.
More than that, he's constantly trying to force-feed Rome Odunze the ball, and while the second-year wideout is clearly a talented player, he may not be ready to be the team's primary pass catcher, unlike Moore.
Moore's 73 receiving yards were his most since Week 1, and there's simply no way to justify that, not even after watching the team win four games in a row. He's their best wide receiver for a reason, and they need to use him.
Through seven games, the former Carolina Panthers wide receiver has 26 receptions on 38 targets, averaging just 47.2 yards per game. He's up to 331 yards and one touchdown, all while carrying the ball eleven times for 37 yards.
Moore went from being a potential dual-threat, Deebo Samuel-type of gadget player on paper to barely getting any looks. And while Ben Johnson should also be to blame for not getting him more involved with scripted plays and whatnot, at the end of the day, it's up to the quarterback to make the most of his weapons.