Carolina Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore enjoyed the greatest moment of his career Sunday.
Seconds later, he suffered his darkest moment.
Moore pulled off an incredible 62-yard Hail Mary TD catch against two Atlanta Falcons defenders with 12 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 34. The resulting PAT would have given the Panthers a thrilling win and put the team in first place in the NFC South.
PJ WALKER JUST DID THAT. HAIL MARY TO DJ MOORE. pic.twitter.com/dDYwoZhaGG
— NFL (@NFL) October 30, 2022
Then disaster struck and it was all Moore’s fault. The star took off his helmet to celebrate the play and promptly got flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.
And when Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro missed the resulting PAT attempt from 48 yards out, Moore had gone from hero to goat in the blink of an eye.
That set up overtime, and the Panthers had a chance to win it, but Pineiro missed the potential game-winner from 33 yards (coincidentally, about the distance of a conventional PAT). The Falcons then kicked a field goal and won, 37-34.
It’s worth noting that Carolina quarterback P.J. Walker‘s Hail Mary traveled 67.6 yards in the air. That’s the longest completion by air distance in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
PJ Walker's Hail Mary TD pass to D.J. Moore traveled 67.6 yards in the air, the longest completion by air distance in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2016).
🔹 Completion Probability: 11.5%#CARvsATL | Powered by @awscloud pic.twitter.com/FaXEOxkLhQ
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 30, 2022
So the Panthers and their fans could have spent the next week talking about that incredible feat, and celebrating their first-place team. Instead, everyone is left pondering Moore’s untimely penalty.
NFL fans were not kind to Moore on Twitter.
D.J. Moore giveth, D.J. Moore taketh away.
— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) October 30, 2022
D.J. Moore just after being called for a 15 yard penalty that cost his team a regulation win. He took his helmet off right after scoring the game-tying TD, and the penalty forced the XP miss from 48 yds. pic.twitter.com/2vRslvmclS
— Coach Hartmann 💎 (@Coach_Hartmann) October 30, 2022
D.J. Moore's penalty officially cost the Panthers a win, so they should probably punish him by trading him to the Packers
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) October 30, 2022
just two NFC south powerhouses battling in the dumbest football game ever played
— Joe Ali (@JoeAli) October 30, 2022
D.J. Moore? More like D.J. Moron! Cost your team a regular time win so you could get some face time in ATL??
— Greg Brown (@Brownski99) October 30, 2022
Kids are going to be scarred by that prevent defense, not D.J. Moore taking his helmet off after a sick catch
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) October 30, 2022
D.J. Moore
Hero and a Bum at the same time.— Jim Celania (@JimCelania) October 30, 2022
[NFL]
