Darnell Mooney’s Hail Mary drop will make the Chicago Bears’ lowlight reel, but far more went wrong for the offense

As a mass of players leaped into the air to catch Justin Fields’ pass Sunday afternoon at Cleveland Browns Stadium, Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney found himself at the front of the pack, tumbling to the grass in the end zone with the football in his hands.

And then in an instant the football — and the upset win — got away. Bounced off Mooney’s chest. Rolled up his leg. Popped into the hands of Browns safety D’Anthony Bell.

Fields’ 45-yard Hail Mary pass to win the game with no time left on the clock instead was a Browns interception to seal a 20-17 comeback victory over the Bears.

Afterward, Mooney laid back in his locker looking at his phone. He had already watched the replay and read the comments on social media decrying the missed opportunity for the Bears, who could have extended their winning streak to three games for the first time since December 2020.

“Everybody is killing me right now,” Mooney said. “But it’s a difficult catch, a hard catch.”

Mooney said Bears players were supposed to try to box out defenders to give 6-foot-6 tight end Cole Kmet the best chance to catch that pass.

Kmet was in the crowd that knocked the football forward toward Mooney, who has faced questions all season about the reasons — some on him, many not — he hasn’t had better production.

“It just ricocheted and I happened to be the guy in the position right there to try to get the ball,” Mooney said. “It’s a wow play. It could have been crazy. I wish I wasn’t falling. It would have been easier to catch it. It’s unfortunate.”

If Mooney had made the catch, it would have put makeup on a game that, on the Bears offensive side, was covered in blemishes.

The Bears had just 236 net yards and one offensive touchdown, totaled 12 first downs and went three-and-out eight times. They were 4-for-18 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. With left guard Teven Jenkins in concussion protocol for the second half, the Bears averaged 3.3 yards per play on the ground for the game.

Fields completed 19 of 40 passes for 166 yards, a touchdown, two interceptions on Hail Mary plays to end each half and a 46.5 passer rating.

Fields, who was sacked nine times in his first career start two years ago in Cleveland, was sacked three times and hit seven. But he said the disruption the formidable Browns defensive line had on his game went beyond that.

Next Gen Stats said defensive end Myles Garrett generated seven pressures, with six of them coming in less than 2.5 seconds.

“That front makes their defense go,” Fields said. “I had some receivers downfield, and I’m trying to anticipate where they’re going to be, but I can’t see the guys. Just because they’re not sacking me doesn’t mean that they’re not affecting me in the play. They did a good job and props to them. I just need to do better.”

As the Bears inch toward January, when general manager Ryan Poles will have to make decisions about his coaching staff and his quarterback, this game won’t go at the top of Fields’ highlights list.

There were more memorable bad plays than good ones in the game, but Mooney and wide receiver DJ Moore both supported Fields when asked whether he should be the team’s quarterback beyond this season.

“Justin is the quarterback of the future,” said Mooney, who had two catches on eight targets for 14 yards. “He’s this franchise’s quarterback. He’s been balling. I don’t understand why there’s any more questions of that. Obviously we have the first-round pick because of Carolina right now. But Justin’s a dog. If he’s not here, he’ll be somewhere else balling.”

The only offensive touchdown drive started at the Browns 1-yard line after safety Eddie Jackson intercepted Browns quarterback Joe Flacco and returned it 27 yards in the second quarter. It took eight snaps before Fields hit Kmet for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The Browns twice committed penalties for too many men on the field and another one for pass interference. Kmet was flagged for a false start.

But eventually, Fields’ playmaking ability on third-and-5 kicked in. He avoided a Garrett sack, breaking left and then right before hitting Kmet while on the run. He said his first read was to Mooney, who was covered well.

“Cole did a great job getting open,” Fields said. “We talked this week about the scramble drill and how that was going to be big for us.”

Beyond that touchdown, the Bears offense only managed a Cairo Santos 41-yard field goal in the third quarter. After Tremaine Edmunds’ pick six against Flacco and the field goal, the Bears had a 17-7 lead with 7 minutes, 7 seconds to play in the third quarter.

The 10-point, fourth-quarter collapse — which is only the third-worst by the Bears this year behind losses to the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions — included Fields getting tripped up while trying to run for the first down on fourth-and-1 at the Browns 33-yard line to open the fourth quarter.

Mooney said he thought the Bears players grew too complacent with the lead in the third. Three of the three-and-outs came after the Bears’ final score.

“I didn’t like how we felt comfortable in the third quarter, just lackadaisical and conservative,” Mooney said. “Everybody was just happy we were winning. We’ve got to be aggressive and continue to put the foot on the pedal. … That’s what bit us. We tried to switch gears in the fourth quarter once they scored, and it’s hard to do that.”

Fields said he didn’t feel too comfortable, but Moore echoed Mooney.

“We didn’t have explosive plays or I don’t even think we had more than four first downs,” Moore said. “It was a little lull, and we can’t be like that against a defense like that.”

The Bears’ longest play came with 25 seconds remaining, after the Browns took the lead. Fields hit rookie Tyler Scott, who tiptoed down the right sideline for a 30-yard gain.

Two incompletions later, Fields let the Hail Mary fly.

“How many times do you see a Hail Mary working and actually fall to be able to make a catch?” Mooney said. “It’s tough. I wish I could have had it.”