‘Would’ve been crazy’: WR Darnell Mooney misses chance to be Bears’ hero vs. Browns

CLEVELAND — Of all the players who could’ve had a shot at catching the Bears’ Hail Mary pass as it caromed around the crowded end zone, it would’ve meant a ton to Darnell Mooney.

Desperate for a highlight in an otherwise dismal season and desperate to bail out the Bears against the Browns on Sunday, Mooney came maddeningly close to making what would’ve been the catch of a lifetime for the game-winning touchdown, but it bounded away and the Browns won 20-17.

Quarterback Justin Fields launched the ball from the Browns’ 45-yard line, and the Browns swatted at it as tight end Cole Kmet went up for it. It deflected to Mooney at the front of the end zone as he fell backward toward the goal line, and he tipped it with his left hand to keep it from hitting the grass. It bounced into his chest as he rolled backward, and he couldn’t trap it before it rattled out, hit his foot and was intercepted by safety D’Anthony Bell.

“I was already falling, so it’s tough,” Mooney said. “It would’ve been crazy, but definitely tough to — I mean, how many times do you see a Hail Mary work and it actually fall into being able to make a catch? I wish I could’ve had it.”

He never felt like he had control of the ball as he tumbled on the ground, and after watching the replay repeatedly, he said while he knew “everybody [on social media] is killing me right now,” it was “a difficult catch.”

As the Browns ran off in celebration, Mooney sat in the end zone imagining an alternate reality where he won the game. He thought, “Dang, that would’ve been crazy if that would’ve happened, if I could’ve held on to it. Wow.”

He’s been doing a lot of dreaming this season. Fields targeted him eight times Sunday, but he caught just two passes for 14 yards. As he heads toward free agency, he’s having the worst season of his career with 29 catches for 409 yards and one touchdown.

“I’m fine,” he said. “That’s a Hail Mary; it’s nothing targeted for me… I just happened to be the guy in position right there to try to get the ball, but it’s a wild play.”

The last two seasons have been brutal for Mooney, who topped 1,000 yards in 2021 before coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy arrived. Eberflus’ only comment on the final play was, “It’s just about focus and concentration at the very end.”