What DJ Moore and Matt Eberflus said about the viral appearance that saw Moore leave the field early

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – If you watched the Chicago Bears' 29-9 loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, there was one play in the first quarter that caught everyone's attention.

On second-and-six from the Arizona 48-yard line, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took the snap, waited and then went left.

Williams struggled, dodging and dodging Cardinals defenders before sliding back to the middle of the field. He fired a pass to Keenan Allen, but Allen was hit with a flag for offensive pass interference.

All that to go back 10 yards.

However, many pointed out after the game that Bears receiver DJ Moore left the field during the game while Williams drifted toward the left sideline.

Moore and Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was asked about the play on Wednesday and had a good explanation for the action.

As it turned out, Moore had a good reason for leaving the field in the middle of the game. He was injured.

“I wanted to come back because I saw Caleb trip and my ankle went in and out,” Moore said. “I couldn’t stop anymore, so my momentum took me out.”

Of course, this wasn't known at the time.

The Bears weren't worried then and weren't worried Wednesday.

“That was it, and then we just moved on to the next play,” Eberflus said. “We just have to do a good job on those plays, scrambling drills and making sure we find open players and all those things.”

Social media discourse about Moore had already been underway since fans and media members criticized his body language during the Bears' first two-game loss of the season.

Asked about it at the time, Moore brushed it off. He mentioned that he might need better body language, but this was different.

Moore mentioned that the injury was extremely painful at the moment.

“The initial twisting of the ankle was really painful, so I was happy to limp away and sit down,” Moore said.

It was so bad that Moore needed time to treat the injury before he could play on it again.

“It didn’t clear up right away,” Moore said. “I did a lot of things on the sideline to keep him going throughout the game. So that’s what went on.”

Moore came back into the game. He finished the game with four receptions for 33 yards.

Returning to the game was one thing. Another reason is social media and the outside perception of Moore leaving in the middle of a game without knowing he was injured.

“They could take it however they want,” Moore said. “I wish they hadn’t done it without even knowing what happened.”

Moore will be a Bear for a while. This offseason, he signed a massive contract extension to stay in Chicago through 2029.

While the Bears' offense struggled on Sunday, Moore has proven to be a tough player who has hit hard to make plays for the Bears before.

“I haven’t stopped playing the game,” Moore said.