The preseason is a time to overrate everything. While it is easy to overreact, most of the stars of the game are not going to be impact players. However, there was one play the Chicago Bears made that could bring momentum into the regular season.
On third down with yards to go in the first quarter, Justin Fields hit Darnell Mooney for 26 yards.
.@Darnell_M1 makin' plays 🤩
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 13, 2022
📺: #KCvsCHI on Fox32 & @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/QBNsEccD7j
It was just one catch, one play in a preseason game, but this play was valuable, and there are three big reasons why we need to take note.
3. Contested Catch
One area in which Darnell Mooney was not great last was contested catches. We noted this offseason that if Darnell Mooney really wants to become a number one wide receiver then he needs to become a more dominant ball winner and a player who can go up and bring in contested passes.
For his career, Mooney was eight for 34 in contested passes, according to PFF. Even compared to smaller wideouts he was not good in this area. While it was just the preseason, this was a contested reception for PFF. Now, he is starting the season off 1-1 in an area where he needed to improve to show that he is number one. That is a great sign.