CHICAGO — Who is to blame for the overtime interception?

With the Chicago Bears driving into Los Angeles Rams territory in sudden death Sunday, the Bears needed only a field goal to win the game. On second-and-8 from the 48-yard line, quarterback Caleb Williams launched a pass deep down the right side of the field intended for receiver DJ Moore, but it was Rams safety Kam Curl who caught it for an interception.

The pick sparked the beginning of the end. Matthew Stafford and the Rams drove into field-goal range and won 20-17 a short while later on a 42-yard kick from Harrison Mevis at Soldier Field.

The replay of the interception showed that Williams and Moore were not on the same page. Moore appeared to be running a deeper route, while Williams threw the ball shorter in his general area. Williams on Monday explained that he saw open space in the shorter area of the field and indicated he hoped Moore would adjust his route toward the open space.

“I felt like we had enough space over there so I tried to flatten him off,” Williams said Monday. “It was just a miscommunication. His route is to go deep and attack that angle, which he did. We thought we were going to go under the safety at that point. It didn’t happen that way.”

Whether it was Williams’ or Moore’s fault, the quarterback was careful not to throw his receiver under the bus. Williams called it a “learning experience.”

On Wednesday, general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson spoke with members of the media addressing the season as a whole. Regarding the interception that all but ended the playoff run, Johnson pinned the blame on himself.

“If there was any sort of miscommunication, that’s my problem,” Johnson said. “That’s no one else’s but mine. I’ve got to do a better job coaching that up.”

Moore did not speak with reporters after the game Sunday or during locker clean out Monday. At one point during the game he went into the medical tent with an independent athletic trainer who monitors concussions at every NFL game. But Moore returned to the game after spending several minutes in the tent.

Johnson said he had a “really good” exit interview with Moore this week. Poles also praised Moore’s toughness. Moore appeared in every game this season, despite several nagging injuries, and finished the regular season with 50 catches for 682 yards and six touchdowns.

“I’ll use his words: He didn’t care about stats,” Poles said of Moore. “All he cared about was winning. This is the most winning DJ has ever had, probably since his high school. That’s all he cares about.”

Moore could emerge as one player whose name will be at the center of offseason speculation. Most notably, his 50 catches and 682 receiving yards were both career lows.

After the Bears traded for Moore as part of the deal that moved the 2023 No. 1 draft pick, he totaled career bests in yards (1,364) yards and touchdowns (eight) during the 2023 season with Justin Fields at quarterback. Since then, Moore has not hit 1,000 receiving yards in either of his two seasons with Williams at quarterback.

Beyond the production, Moore’s contract makes him a player to watch in the offseason. Per overthecap.com, the Bears are about $4 million over the salary cap for 2026. Poles will need to create cap space to sign any new players, including his 2026 draft picks, and the first place to look is always at the team’s biggest contracts.

Moore’s contract is a prime candidate for adjustment, either by a restructure or potentially a trade. The Bears signed Moore to a four-year, $110 million extension in July 2024. At the time, Moore still had two seasons remaining on his deal. The new money still hasn’t hit the books. Moore will cost $28.5 million against the cap next season, making him the highest-paid player on the team.

Trading Moore could free up $16.5 million in cap space in 2026, according to overthecap.com, plus get his salary off the books for 2027-29. Additionally, $15.5 million of Moore’s 2027 salary becomes guaranteed if he remains on the roster March 13 of this year, two days after the NFL’s new league year begins. If the Bears were to consider moving on from Moore — still a big if — they almost certainly would do so before March 13.

“In terms of roster, like I said, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make and figuring that out,” Poles said when asked about Moore. “I think what stood out about DJ this year is the level of toughness, (it) rubbed off on our team. Guys if they were dinged up, like they almost had to go because DJ was going. He was able to fight through a lot. (I’ve) got a lot of respect for him.”

Poles will have other options for freeing up cap space, and trading any player means finding a buyer who is willing to pay him. Moving any big contract comes with difficulties.

But the emergence of second-year receiver Rome Odunze and rookie Luther Burden III could have the Bears feeling good about where things stand in the receiver room. Before missing the final five games of the regular season, Odunze was on pace to lead the Bears in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

Still, Moore brings a lot to the locker room that’s hard to quantify. He hasn’t missed a game since 2020, and teammates love him.

“He’s a player that I felt really helped us get to the point to where we were this year,” Johnson said. “We had an opportunity there, a couple games away from the Super Bowl, so I thought he was a huge contributor to getting us there.”

Johnson found ways to utilize Moore in the offense, and Moore made one of the more iconic touchdown plays in team history when he caught a walk-off overtime touchdown against the Green Bay Packers last month.

But the most important factor will be the fit within Johnson’s offense, something Johnson and Poles are likely to talk about in the coming weeks and months.

“(We’ll) get back together, look at the roster,” Poles said. “There’s some challenges and some big decisions we’ve got to make, but I’m excited for that. Usually that means you’re in a good position and you’re having success, and the more success you have, the more challenges and hard decisions you got to make, and those will be critical for us to sustain it.”

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