When the Chicago Bears lined up on first-and-10 from the Green Bay Packers 25-yard line late in the fourth quarter, you may have missed it in the moment, but something was different.
Right tackle Darnell Wright lined up outside of left tackle Theo Benedet. That wasn’t by mistake. The alignment and many other factors helped the Bears execute the play to perfection – a 25-yard touchdown strike from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore for the game-deciding score, which helped the Bears defeat the Packers, 31-27, in the Wild Card.
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle broke down how the play’s design allowed Moore to become so wide open.
"So we were in an unbalanced look,” Doyle said. “First of all, the defense has to talk and communicate their front mechanics and their rules as to how they are going to adjust to that. So that's some eye candy there. Secondly, we released Darnell into the flat, really giving them the illusion that we are getting ready to throw this ball out there to Luther. We really needed to fool one guy; DJ did a great job.”
DJ Moore's game-winning touchdown is even better the second time
Earlier in the game, the Bears had run a slightly different screen play, but to go back to that play concept late in the game could have impacted the defensive backs on that side.
“We have been talking about that for a couple of weeks of him (Moore) really threatening that outside player, getting him to trigger,” Doyle said. “Once he stepped up, I think we all knew it was going to be a touchdown if we put a good ball on him. That was just a byproduct of us doing something we felt really comfortable with and trying to give them things to look at and mess with their eyes a bit to get them to bite on something else."
Elite play callers can identify strategic ways to get their top playmakers the ball. In this instance, some eye candy, the illusion of the screen, by using Wright, helped make the play come to life.
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Head coach Ben Johnson deserves plenty of credit for designing the play, and the players for running it as intended. The Bears will need more of those types of plays, and more importantly, those types of results against the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field.