DJ Moore gave Packers defense every reason to kick the Bears while they’re down

As hard as it may be to remember now, D.J. Moore and the Chicago Bears were riding high this summer. The team had finally found its quarterback of the future in Caleb Williams, and had managed to add receivers Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze as well as running back D'Andre Swift. Combine that impressive supporting cast with a defense that was among the best in the league to close 2023, and it wasn't hard to make the case for the Bears as a playoff team this season. After years in the wilderness, the vibes were immaculate.

So you can understand why Moore might've felt comfortable talking a little smack about two of his team's biggest rivals. When he appeared on the Up and Adams show back in May, the sky was the limit, and the Pro Bowl wideout didn't mind letting everyone know he thought Chicago had a better offseason than the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.

Asked a question about the defensive upgrades Green Bay and Detroit had made in the spring, Moore had no idea what Adams was talking about. When reminded that the Lions had added two big-time cornerbacks while the Packers had signed safety Xavier McKinney, he still wasn't too impressed, saying simply: "Who? Oh, that's nice."

But what seemed like harmless fun over the summer might be about to haunt Moore and the reeling Bears on Sunday. Because while everything is falling apart for Chicago amid a three-game losing streak, their opponent in Week 11 is ready deliver some revenge months in the making.

Xavier McKinney remembers DJ Moore's smack talk about the Packers secondary

If you were wondering whether McKinney remembered Moore's words from way back in May, he left no doubt when speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

“There’s a clip somewhere out there where D.J. Moore said something about … they were asking him about the Packers getting me and he was like, ‘Who?' All that stuff, that’s in my memory bank and I work accordingly to that. You know how people get before the season. They don’t really know what’s going to happen during the season and you just start talking too much and you don’t really know what you’re talking about. You’re just talking.”

Yeah, safe to say McKinney has been looking forward to this matchup for a long, long time. And he wasn't even done coming after Moore, going on to criticize the receiver's perceived lack of support for Williams during Chicago's humiliating home loss to the New England Patriots last Sunday.

"This dude walked out on his QB," McKinney said of Moore, referring to a moment against the Pats in which the wideout appeared to take himself to the bench mid-play. "I don't think I've ever seen that. You're supposed to be the guy and you're just walking off the field. You're walking off the field on a rookie quarterback."

While the Bears season spirals out of control, the Packers are right in the thick of the NFC North race at 6-3 — in large part thanks to McKinney, who's been one of the best safeties in the league this season after coming over from the New York Giants. And now he'll have the chance to remind Moore of his preseason prediction up close and personal on Sunday.