Late in the second quarter of the Chicago Bears' 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, quarterback Caleb Williams attempted to throw a pass to wide receiver DJ Moore down the left sideline for an explosive play. The ball sailed, and the pass fell incomplete.
How did Caleb Williams miss Dj Moore by this much .. it might be time to have some conversations pic.twitter.com/0tML5sny1O
— John (@iam_johnw) September 9, 2025
As expected, the play generated plenty of debate on what the design was supposed to look like. Former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick provided his opinion on the play.
“Lots of hate being spewed about this play but I think Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson might be the only 2 QBs in the league that make this throw,” Fitzpatrick wrote. “DJ Moore is supposed to run a corner route and while Caleb starts his throwing motion DJ inexplicably changes his route and throws his hand up…almost impossible to adjust to. Let’s just say if this happened to me it would look like I was having a seizure trying to adjust mid throw”
Fitzpatrick played 17 years in the NFL. He's seen a lot of different offenses in his time and knows what it's like to play the quarterback position.
Fitzpatrick wasn't the only one talking about the play
On Wednesday, Williams was asked about the play and if Moore converted his initial route.
"Yeah, so that unfolded, and DJ ended up converting,” Williams said. “The safety was tucked inside, and just ended up not being on the same page with the ball and things like that. And he ended up doing a good job popping his hand up in the air and showing me. And I’ve just got to deliver him a good ball, probably a line drive next time, and just get the ball in his hands as fast as possible. And let him go be special from there."
Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was also asked about the play and confirmed that Moore adjusted his initial out route. Doyle also highlighted how those in-play adjustments can be complex for a quarterback.
“If the quarterback is in his rhythm, he’s expecting you to be in a certain place and so we’re saying, hey, that’s where we gotta go,” Moore said. “If you end up - hey I’m wide open - early in the route, you can fire that hand up and tell him early in his drop that I’m running to space here. But that’s one of those things where we’ve just got to get those two guys on the same page. Really, the correction is across the board for the whole offense. It’s good for everybody to see that and how we want to handle that in the future.”
DJ Moore's ad-lib led to Caleb Moore overthrowing him in Q4 with 2:32, according to #Bears OC Declan Doyle pic.twitter.com/C89o0UrN1i
— Barroom Net | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork) September 11, 2025
The sooner Williams and Moore can correct those types of misses, the quicker the offense will start generating explosive passing plays.
Read more: Biggest disappointment for Bears in Week 1 Vikings loss is crystal clear
The Bears will travel to Detroit to face the Lions, who gave up several big plays downfield to the Green Bay Packers in their Week 1 loss. Sunday's Bears-Lions matchup could provide a great opportunity for Williams and Moore to get on track.