Is Bears WR Darnell Mooney ready to break out? Beleaguered passing attack needs a spark

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Chicago Bears moving backmost David Montgomery was motioning for his violative enactment to travel backmost and get lined up for 2nd down aft helium was convinced wide receiver Darnell Mooney couldn’t person perchance made specified a spectacular catch.

But determination was 1 problem.

"I'm like, 'Oh my God,'" Montgomery said, aft realizing Mooney made the body-contorting, one-handed catch. "He's disgusting."

While it was astonishing anyone could marque the benignant of drawback Mooney did precocious successful the archetypal fractional of Sunday's crippled successful Minnesota, Mooney was expected to person had galore much "oh my God" catches 5 weeks into the season. Or conscionable catches successful general.

Mooney is coming disconnected a sophomore play during which helium caught 81 passes for 1,055 yards and 4 touchdowns -- each squad highs. The imaginable for a breakout play was tied to what was expected to beryllium a second-year leap by backmost Justin Fields.

But thing happened connected the mode to the Fields-Mooney transportation evolving into a accordant limb -- the Bears' passing onslaught cratered.

The Bears are past successful the league successful astir each large passing category, including attempts (88) and yards per crippled (116.6).

The effect has been a adjacent disappearance of Mooney, who has conscionable 10 receptions connected 20 targets for 173 yards, and has yet to score. By comparison, Minnesota's Justin Jefferson had 10 catches for 138 yards Sunday ... successful the archetypal half.

Mooney's acrobatic 39-yard drawback wasn't a TD grab, and it didn't halt the Bears from losing 29-22 and falling to 2-3, but it did service arsenic a reminder of what the 24-year-old is susceptible of doing.

Will it beryllium a spark that Mooney and the discourtesy transportation implicit into Thursday's crippled against the 1-4 Washington Commanders (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime), who person fixed up 11 passing TDs, tied for second-worst successful the NFL?

"Definitely a confidence-builder, for sure," first-year caput manager Matt Eberflus said.

Mooney's drawback led to a Montgomery touchdown tally 3 plays later, and that helped initiate a comeback arsenic the Bears overcame a 21-3 shortage to instrumentality a fourth-quarter lead. A precocious turnover allowed the Vikings to propulsion retired the victory, but astatine this point, immoderate betterment is simply a triumph for the Bears.

And determination was nary denying the Bears' passing onslaught showed betterment Sunday, including Fields posting idiosyncratic highs with a 71.4 completion percent and 118.8 passer rating.

"I consciousness similar my occupation is to beryllium a playmaker astatine each times," said Mooney, who was named an honorary squad captain. "Whenever I get the ball, I conscionable person to bash everything I tin to make a spark."

NEARLY AN HOUR aft the Bears squeaked retired a 23-20 triumph implicit the Texans connected Sept. 25, Mooney was successful the northbound extremity portion astatine Soldier Field successful afloat uniform, catching passes from the Jugs machine. Everyone other was agelong gone, speech from a subordinate of the instrumentality unit who loaded footballs into the apparatus and the grounds unit cleaning up the field.

"I've seen it successful hoops wherever guys mightiness enactment aft to sprout around, but not successful football," Chicago signifier squad receiver Isaiah Coulter said. "He mightiness beryllium the archetypal ever to bash that."

It was Mooney's mode of dealing with a disastrous archetypal 3 weeks.

• Week 1: One drawback for 8 yards vs. San Francisco successful a driving rainstorm astatine Soldier Field

• Week 2: One drawback connected a surface walk for minus-4 yards successful Green Bay

• Week 3: Two catches for 23 yards -- and 1 driblet -- vs. Houston

"Offensively, I didn't deliberation I helped retired arsenic overmuch arsenic I planned to," Mooney said aft the triumph implicit the Texans. "Just passing-game wise, I was conscionable frustrated, not being the playmaker [who] I planned to be."

Figuring retired the basal of what's gone incorrect has travel with an honorable self-assessment. While the analytics suggest Fields' targets are getting unfastened with an mean of 3.9 yards of separation, the second-best successful the NFL, Mooney has addressed his way imprecisions and miscommunication.

With implicit 3 minutes until halftime against the Giants successful Week 4, Bears' violative coordinator Luke Getsy dialed up 4 vertical plays extracurricular the reddish zone. Mooney was expected to crook crossed the formation, but helium divided up the seam and was streaking toward the extremity zone.

While helium was capable to interruption escaped from the safety, helium ran the incorrect route, reasoning of a akin play from past year.

"I'm expected to beryllium to the close of the apical safety, and that's wherever [Fields] was looking for maine at," Mooney said.

Fields didn't spot him and ended up scrambling for a archetypal down. The thrust ended with a tract goal.

The disconnect betwixt Fields and his receivers has been a storyline each season. Fields has the highest off-target percent (27.4) successful the NFL, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The backmost has often received disapproval for not connecting with his receivers and leaving players open.

But it's not arsenic if Fields has the astir talented and experienced radical of playmakers astir him. Injuries person besides plagued the Bears' receiving corps. All that combined means Mooney -- the WR1 -- is being asked to bash much than anyone else.

"He astir apt has the second-most hard occupation of anybody connected offense," Bears wide receivers manager Tyke Tolbert said. "The backmost is the first, but Mooney, astatine immoderate constituent successful clip depending connected the unit we call, helium tin [be lined up successful 1 of respective WR spots], each successful the aforesaid drive.

"He tin grip it, but sometimes, similar anything, you bash truthful galore antithetic things, particularly connected the aforesaid drive, you whitethorn person a intelligence mistake present oregon there. It shouldn't happen, but it does."

BEFORE THE BEARS wrapped up OTAs, Mooney reflected connected however helium would beryllium relied upon to assistance Fields' maturation successful Year 2.

"His occurrence is my success, truthful arsenic agelong arsenic he's doing good, I'm doing good, we're each doing good," Mooney said.

That mindset is wherefore moments similar the postgame Jugs league don't astonishment his teammates.

"The guy's enactment ethic is crazy," Bears receiver Dante Pettis said. "He's conscionable similar -- I'm going to travel in, bash my stuff, get better. He's benignant of obsessed with that, and it’s chill to spot from idiosyncratic younger.

"Most of the time, I consciousness similar I’ve grown into a relation wherever I effort to assistance radical out, amusement them the ropes a small bit, but I didn't truly person to bash that with him. ... I've learned a batch from him watching the mode helium works."

After a brutal 3 weeks, things started to alteration successful Week 4 against the Giants. Fields' champion walk of the play came connected a 56-yard onslaught implicit the mediate of the tract to Mooney, who finished with 4 catches for 94 yards.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start. Chicago has thrown the shot much the past 2 weeks but inactive has the fewest passing attempts done 5 weeks of immoderate NFL squad since 1982.

Despite the deficiency of volume, determination are moments that constituent to Fields and Mooney moving done this slump.

On the Bears' archetypal thrust Sunday successful Minnesota, Fields tried to deed Mooney connected a country way successful the extremity zone, but the walk went incomplete. Mooney ran his way astatine excessively steep of an angle. Fields' walk was off-target.

Yet dissimilar their earlier games, Fields and Mooney got backmost connected way earlier halftime. The Bears ran that aforesaid play 3 drives later, resulting successful the turning constituent of the crippled with Mooney's 39-yard grab.

"It decidedly gave america a batch of momentum," Fields said.

Now the situation for the Bears is to physique disconnected their humble betterment and prolong immoderate momentum. There's a modulation play for immoderate squad with a caller manager and system, but it's the clip of the play erstwhile consistency needs to beryllium achieved.

"I consciousness similar immoderate benignant of a spark, conscionable passing the shot down the field, tin springiness assurance to the offense," Mooney said. "I recognize the process we person to spell done with our discourtesy and everything being new, everybody inactive learning and conscionable trying to judge successful the offense. It's a travel that you conscionable person to enactment into it, judge successful and spot the process."