DJ Moore’s body language not an issue for Caleb Williams, Bears

After tight-roping the sideline on a game-tying 34-yard touchdown reception, DJ Moore sat alone on the Bears’ bench during the first quarter of Chicago’s 36-10 win over the Panthers. Some have criticized the receiver for questionable body language this season, but he finished with five catches for 105 yards.

He also caught another touchdown just before halftime, extending Chicago’s lead to 27-7. After the game, Moore described that 30-yard touchdown catch and the chemistry he shares with quarterback Caleb Williams.

“It was just a dot,” Moore said of the second score, captured by the Bears with a mic’d-up Williams. “We work on that in practice and when he threw it, I was like, ‘Man, it’s a touchdown,’ because I knew I’d crossed the corner’s face. There was nobody in the middle of the field so I was like, ‘It’s my ball or it’s nobody’s.’

And even if nobody connects with him on the sideline, Moore’s coaches and teammates weren’t surprised by his connection with Williams.

“It’s great. We’ve seen them in practice,” head coach Matt Eberflus said after the win. “We always tell guys, ‘You’ll see it on the practice field before you see it in the game,’ and we have seen those. And they have made some good connections over the last couple weeks and we were just waiting for it. Got the coverage we wanted and it worked out.”

Expect Williams to look for more opportunities to connect with Moore, starting this week when the Bears (3-2) travel to London to play Jacksonville (1-4) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday (9:30 a.m. ET, NFLN).

“Having a special player like that on your team, you want to get him the ball and let him just be DJ and be special,” Williams said after the win over Carolina. “It felt really good. We were super excited. We get to the sideline, and we are both like, ‘Finally, we’re able to hit something like that.’”

Hitting something like that wasn’t possible, according to beat writer Nicholas Moreano, without two teammates providing pivotal protection, especially on the first touchdown pass.

“Really underrated detail on this Caleb Williams and DJ Moore touchdown is the blitz pickup from D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet,” Moreano tweeted.

And don’t expect Washington’s Jayden Daniels to run away with the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award, either. Kyle Long said last week that Bears fans shouldn’t covet Washington’s rookie. And not only did Williams register a season-best 126.2 passer rating in the win against the Panthers, he’s also improved his passer rating in each of his last three starts.

For sportswriter Danny Parkins, that’s enough to make Williams a solid contender for the NFL’s offensive rookie honor. On Monday’s edition of FS1’s Breakfast Ball, co-host Mark Schlereth asked Parkins whether Williams has arrived.

“He’s been ‘arrived,’ Mark,” answered Parkins before noting that Williams with his forgettable Week 1 debut removed is now on pace to pass for 4,242 yards this season.