The noise around DJ Moore can stop: Takeaways from the Chicago Bears 31-3 bounce-back win over the Browns

How many times Ben Johnson actually stressed the Bears' needed to stay focused on Cleveland remains unclear.

The reality is he got the point across.

The Chicago Bears' 31-3 win over the Browns was an example of the Bears rolling a team. It was also an example of the Bears taking care of business. It was an example of the Bears bouncing back.

It was win No. 10, as head coach Ben Johnson joins Matt Nagy and George Halas as the only head coaches to win 10 games in their first season in Chicago.

"We're onto the next one," Johnson said. "Ten is great, but it's not enough."

Here are our takeaways from the Bears’ 31-3 win over the Browns, where the Bears took care of business against a bad and banged-up Cleveland squad.

Now, the Bears can focus on Green Bay

Midway through the third quarter, the Soldier Field crowd began chanting "Green Bay sucks!" This was indeed looking ahead to the Bears’ Week 16 game on Saturday night against the Packers, who now come to Soldier Field.

Heck, Bears fans at the Blackhawks game on Saturday night even started the same chants. It was clear the Bears fandom has been thinking about a get-back game against the team that beat them a week ago.

The only issue was the Bears were in the middle of a game against the Browns. The Bears were winning 21-3 in a game that felt like it was 41-3 at that point, but the game had an entire quarter left to play.

The Bears’ offense quieted the fans and went to work. A few plays later, D’Andre Swift scored on a 17-yard touchdown run. 

Okay, now it felt over. After the game, it was made pretty clear the tone had been shifted. The Packers are coming to town. 

Now, the Bears can move their focus to the team they need to beat if they want to win the NFC North.

The Bears did a good job of keeping the focus on Cleveland. Admittedly, it might have been easier to overlook the Browns instead of spiraling down against them. The Browns were down an entire starting offensive line, offensive weapon David Njoku, star cornerback Denzel Ward and more.

The Bears had a chance to take care of business and they did.

"You come off a very highly emotional game the week before, and we ended up on the loss side of that one, and the easy thing to do is allow that to spiral out of control, and the guys didn't allow that to happen," Johnson said. "They came back to work and handled the process really well."

Now, it’s Packers week. Now, the Bears have a chance to get back at Green Bay. Now, the Bears can get win No. 11 and really secure a spot in the playoffs.

"We obviously want to get back at these guys," tight end Cole Kmet said. "Should be a great atmosphere on Saturday night."

This felt like Caleb Williams’ best game of the seasonn

After Sunday’s win, Caleb Williams was asked if his second touchdown to wide receiver DJ Moore could be perceived as an ill-advised pass. He fired it in the back of the end zone, where there were more Browns than Bears.

To everyone else, it might’ve looked like an errant pass.

"Isn’t that like an ill-advised throw?" Kmet said with a laugh.

Not to the quarterback it wasn’t.

"I can make any throw," Williams said.

He proved it. That pass zipped between the two Browns and found its way to Moore for a touchdown. It was the second of the day for Moore, and was a play the Bears had tried to hit before but couldn’t seal the deal.

The Bears had a "hero" route to Olamide Zaccheaus that Williams nearly hit in the win over the Eagles. He hit Moore on that route Sunday in a moment that broke open the game.

It was a staunch reminder that Williams has talent that not many others have.

"I would say 99% of the quarterbacks, you tell them don’t even waste your time looking back there and trying to make that throw," Johnson said. "There’s usually bad things that happen and yet he’s got the ability to make that throw and DJ made a heck of a play there right on the back line as well. That was one of those highlight moments there."

It was more than just one play, too. Williams was throwing accurate passes all over the field. He completed 60 percent of his throws for 242 yards and two touchdowns.

He also eclipsed 3,000 passing yards for the second-straight year. Williams has the 14th 3,000-yard passing season in Bears’ history. He’s also the first quarterback to throw 20 touchdowns in consecutive seasons since Jay Cutler.

He does all of this while taking care of the ball, as he’s thrown the fewest number of interceptions in his first 1,000 passes of any quarterback in NFL history. The Browns had no answer for the plays Williams could make.

"It shows off why he was the No. 1 overall pick," Kmet said.

We can stop discounting DJ Moore

Speaking of that touchdown from Williams to Moore, the receiver himself made a great play to get that ball, too.

Moore was tracking the ball and never lost it for a second. Once he saw Williams roll out and fire a pass into the end zone, Moore was determined to go up and get that.

"I didn’t take my eyes off of it," Moore said. "He gave me a chance on it, and I better come down with it."

This was the exclamation point for Moore’s big day. It was good for him, too. He got to shut up a lot of detractors of his role in the offense.

After last week, where DJ Moore only had one reception on three targets, there were murmurs and questions about why he isn’t involved in the offense more and where his targets were.

On Sunday, Moore had four receptions on five targets for 69 yards and two touchdowns. He was second on the team only to Luther Burden III’s six receptions for 84 yards. 

"Will it shut y’all up?" Moore said.

Moore’s spot in the offense is clear. He’s a top target that has a year of trust built in with Williams. That trust showed Sunday.

No matter what, Moore understands football is a team sport. Somedays, he might get 10 targets and other times he might get three. At this point, he’s also enjoying the feeling of a 10-win season, which is his first winning season in the NFL since being drafted to Carolina in 2018.

"I just go with the flow of things," Moore said. "When my number’s call – or if it’s called – when I’m on the backside of something and if a guy makes a play, I’m just going to be there."

So far, Moore has always been there. He’s earned some slack.

D’Marco Jackson is becoming a fixture at linebacker

When the Bears went down Noah Sewell, TJ Edwards AND Tremaine Edmunds against the Steelers, it was a dire moment.

D’Marco Jackson stepped in as the fourth linebacker. He led the Bears in tackles that day. He’s been steady ever since.

On Sunday, he made the play of the game when he tipped a Shedeur Sanders pass in the air and intercepted it himself. He set up Moore’s 22-yard touchdown catch from Williams. That was the moment the game changed.

"I think that was a game changer to me. You're always looking for a little bit to spark your team, ignite your team there and in the second half," Johnson said. "We really needed it because we were able to capitalize and make that into 21-3, and it felt like we took firm control of the game there at that point."

That was just a great play made at the right time in a moment where he bit on Cleveland’s play-action, but recovered enough to bat the ball.

"I kind of just got caught up in the run action, and then on my way out, just looking back at the quarterback on this drop, I just got my hands up on it," Jackson said. "Was able to recover it."

That was the big play, but he also had a sack where he blitzed untouched through the B-gap between the left guard and left tackle. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a sack and an interception in the same game.

"I don't even know," Jackson said. "It's been a while."

Jackson joined the team later in training camp and has been quietly becoming a fixture on special teams. Now, he’s a defensive presence. He’s commanding the defense at such a high level, he continues to call the defense as the Bears try and get Edwards back to full health.

Now, he’s another player the Bears found they can count on.

"To go from a guy contributing on special teams to playing significant snaps at MIKE linebacker, I think that's a big credit to him," Johnson said.