The Chicago Bears are still unpacking the final sequence of Sunday’s 28-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, a game that swung the NFC playoff picture and reignited discussions among fans about play-calling and decision-making.
The loudest conversation online centered around whether star wideout DJ Moore should have been the target on the Bears’ decisive fourth-and-1 snap inside the Packers’ red zone.
During his Monday availability, head coach Ben Johnson addressed the viral claims suggesting Moore was open and should have been the primary target.
Johnson disagreed with that notion, offering deeper context on how the play unfolded and why the read went elsewhere. The head coach also noted that Packers corner Keisean Nixon began the play in man coverage on Moore.
“Yeah, I didn’t see him [DJ Moore] as being the answer in that time,” Johnson said, clarifying when Moore actually broke free. “I think he came open more after the ball was released from Caleb [Williams]…Nixon was man-to-man with DJ and was trailing him and ended up falling off and making a play on Cole. So it was a good play by Nixon, and yet I still don’t think, if we get the spacing right and all that and a good ball, that he’s going to be able to cover both of those players like that.”
The Bears had called a play-action rollout for Caleb Williams, a design that had consistently worked against Green Bay earlier in the evening. The Packers bit on the run fake, leaving Cole Kmet uncovered downfield, exactly what the staff hoped for.
But Williams was a moment late on the throw, and the under-targeted pass allowed Nixon to recover and intercept it in the end zone.
Moore, meanwhile, had a frustrating afternoon statistically; he ran 33 routes and recorded just one catch for a four-yard loss. His two earlier targets also fell incomplete, including a third-down miss over the middle.
Johnson reiterated that while Moore flashed open late, the progression and timing did not make him a realistic option on that play.
The loss dropped Chicago from the NFC’s top seed to No. 7, dramatically tightening their margin for error. Chicago now turns its focus to Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns. A must-win stretch beginning now if they hope to avoid the worst-case scenario.
