Refs got on DJ Moore’s ‘nerves’ with bad OPI calls in Bears’ win vs. Panthers originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
CHICAGO — DJ Moore was all smiles after the Bears’ ugly 16-13 win over the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night at Soldier Field.
But the star wide receiver did have one gripe after the Bears’ third win of the season. Officials penalized Moore twice for offensive pass interference in the win. Both calls landed somewhere between questionable and unacceptable on the “bad call” spectrum.
Moore wasn’t pleased with the laundry he was assessed in the win.
“No,” Moore said after the win when asked if the refs explained the PI calls to him. “They was getting on my nerves today. They called me twice for it, and then they going to have the nerve to talk to me afterwards. Don’t talk to me afterward because neither of them were pass interference, so it’s OK.”
The second flag was an egregious call.
Facing a third-and-9 late in the third quarter, quarterback Tyson Bagent dropped back and hit Trent Taylor on the left side for a gain of 16. Moore’s feet got tangled up with a defensive back while he and Taylor were running their routes, and the officials flagged Moore for pass interference when the defensive back stumbled after making contact with his feet.
Moore wasn’t pleased with how he was officiated Thursday, and he had a light-hearted message for the refs that was undoubtedly softened by the win.
“The second one, they ain’t say nothing about the second one,” Moore said when asked about his communication with the refs. “The first one, they said I drove him downfield to far. He initiated contact with me first, so I don’t know.
“Maybe we need other refs.”
Moore caught five passes for 58 yards in the win as the Bears rode a dominant defensive performance to a win they had to have.
Had the Bears not found a way to win their first one-score game since Week 3 of last season, Moore undoubtedly would have had harsher words for an officiating crew that had an effort to forget — one that meshed perfectly with the slopfest the Bears won Thursday night.