LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Caleb Williams stressed the importance of being on the same page with his wide receivers after DJ Moore faced criticism for his attempt to run a route on a play that led to a game-changing touchdown in the Chicago Bears’ 20-17 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
After the game, Williams labeled the incident a “miscommunication” between himself and Moore. Williams said he had not spoken to Moore about the game as of late Monday morning but felt there should be a discussion with Moore and all of Chicago’s receivers.
“It’s little things like that that show up in those moments that maybe you didn’t talk about, being on the same page, maybe you talked about it in Week 1 or Week 6 and it came out. [Week 20],” Williams said. We’ll do that another time.”
Moore was not at the locker room game or during Monday’s locker cleanout.
The Bears faced a second-and-8 from the Rams’ 48-yard line on their own in overtime after Los Angeles went three-and-out to start overtime. With time to throw into a clean pocket, Williams fired a shot downfield that would have put the Bears in field goal territory. But instead of connecting with Moore, Williams’ throw was intercepted when Rams safety Kam Curl cut in front of the wide receiver.
Los Angeles won the game and advanced to the NFC Championship Game after kicking a 42-yard field goal on their ensuing possession.
Against the Rams, Moore had a team-high five carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. The 28-year-old was criticized for appearing to run in his lane and scrambling up the field instead of running across the field after starting the game with a limp and where Williams had directed him.
“Like I said, it was just not communicating,” Williams said. “I’m just trying to beat him down on the safety. Since the other safeties were down, I felt like we had enough space there so I tried to outthink him. It was just a miscommunication. His way is to go deep and attack that angle, which he did. We thought we were going to get under the safety at that point. It didn’t happen that way.”
As the Bears begin their offseason on Monday, linebacker Rome Odunze confirmed he will not need surgery to repair a foot injury that has sidelined him for his sophomore season. Odunze has 12 games left due to an injury that he says will heal if he rests.
“It was bad, man,” said Odunze, playing through the injury. “It was bad. … We’re playing because of injuries. It’s part of the game. I’m not going to sit here and make excuses, but it’s something I was dealing with.”
The 2024 No. 9 expressed frustration with the way his sophomore season played out after coming out of training camp as Williams’ top priority. Odunze finished third on the Bears in receiving yards (661) and fourth in receptions (44) and was tied for the team lead with six touchdowns.
