The stage was set.
DJ Moore, former Maryland Terrapin, playing in front of thousands of fans, including his own mother in a custom #12 Panthers jersey that read “DJ’s Mom” on the nameplate, in a state he called home over the last three years – little did the 5-foot 11, rookie wide receiver know that he would commit two fumbles in the span of a 15 minutes despite having only three turnovers in his entire collegiate career; each turnover would result in points for the Redskins as the Panthers staked Washington to an early 17-0 lead.
“Just not holding the ball tight enough,” Moore gave the simple reasons for his fumbles as a small amount of blood dripped from a bruise on his forehead after the Panthers 23-17 loss. “[I’ve] just got to be aware of the people that’s coming behind the person I just missed.”
Moore’s fumbles came with a price. After the Redskins went three and out on their first drive and punted the ball to the rookie, Moore caught the ball and gained roughly a yard, and as Washington’s defenders surrounded Moore, linebacker Shaun Hamilton – among others – forced Moore to fumble the ball. This gave the Redskins the ball on Carolina’s 22 yard line; one play later, quarterback Alex Smith threw a touchdown to tight end Vernon Davis and Washington had struck first.
“The truth of the matter is once he got locked up, he should have protected the ball and gone down,” said Ron Rivera after the game, reiterating that despite the game, Moore was a big part of the team’s plans moving forward – proved by the three targets and a carry Moore received after the two fumbles. “The other one, you’ve got give [the Redskins] credit. They punched the ball out. That’s a little something Josh Norman learned from Charles “Peanut” Tillman and that was the punch. So you got to give them credit for a play well made.”
After the game, Moore sat with his head down facing towards his locker. One by one, his teammates came by and patted him on the shoulder, giving words of encouragements to the 21-year old. Moore said during the game many of his fellow Panthers told him on the sidelines about mistakes they made throughout the course of their careers and not to overthink it.
“Man, I made my fair share of mistakes,” said Devin Funchess. “Probably still making my mistakes. I mean, nobody can ever play a perfect game; nobody in your field can broadcast a perfect interview or doing anything like that – everybody make mistakes in the world that we live. We just so happen to be on TV with it. But, I’ve been on him — just play your game and everything else will be fine.”
Funchess quickly grew tired of questions about his rookie teammate and made his grievances known.
“Y’all making a big deal out of nothing. Y’all making a big deal out of nothing. He’s good. When we go play Philly – home for him – he is going to turn up.”
Fellow former Terp and wide receiver Torrey Smith had the same sentiments as the rest of the locker room – it’s not about what happens to you, but how you overcome – a common refrain this season for Carolina. Smith, along with head coach Ron Rivera said he is very proud of Moore and how he responded in the second half – Moore had three catches for 42 yards and a jet sweep that went for 18 yards.
“That’s the only way these guys are going to learn and develop into the players we believe they can be.,” said Rivera. “We will stick with them. We have done it in the past where the quarterback has come back and threw the ball to the guy and we will continue to do it. We’re trying to develop a football team. I’m not too concerned about punishing players for making mistakes as much as we are about developing and making sure they are learning and growing and being able to go forward.”
“If we believe in them, we’re going to keep putting them out there.”
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