'Stars aligned' for DJ Moore on 230-yard, three-TD night in Bears' win over Commanders 

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The Chicago Bears traded for DJ Moore for nights like Thursday.

The receiver was the best player on the field in Chicago’s 40-20 blowout win in D.C., generating eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

“It was just fun,” Moore said. “Football is fun. We’re out there playing a kid’s game at the end of the day. I just looked at it that way. Tonight, the stars aligned.”

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Moore became the first Bears player in the Super Bowl era with 200-plus receiving yards and three-plus receiving TDs in the same game, per NFL Research (last to do so: Harlon Hill in Week 6, 1954).

Moore carried the passing offense and was the only wide receiver to catch a pass. All other Bears targets combined for seven catches for 52 yards and a score.

He opened the scoring by getting open for a 20-yard TD and iced Chicago’s first win in nearly a year with a catch-and-run for a 56-yard touchdown. Moore’s 230 receiving yards set a record for a Thursday night.

“It was like we just needed a win,” Moore said. “Get the mojo going in our favor, and it’s time to just carry that over into the weeks coming. So that’s the best thing.”

Moore’s burst out the past two weeks, setting a Bears franchise record for the most receiving yards in a two-game span with 361 receiving yards (previous: Alshon Jeffery, 333 yards in Weeks 13 and 14, 2013).

The wideout’s 531 receiving yards through five games are more than any Bears WR had in 2022 (Darnell Mooney led Bears WRs with 493 yards).

The type of performance justified the Bears’ insistence on Moore being part of the trade for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

“Just because of his reputation, of that,” coach Matt Eberflus said of Moore’s impact on the club. “He is a hard worker and he’s a great teammate. He uplifts everybody. He helps others and he works, and put together with him being a great player. That’s why we wanted him.”

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