Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore could be getting celebrated for one of the great plays of the NFL this week after catching a touchdown pass that appeared to be a game-winner. Instead he’s being criticized for one of the bonehead plays of the week for taking his helmet off, drawing a 15-yard penalty that led to a missed extra point and a Panthers loss in overtime. But Moore says he has no regrets.
“Regrets? Nah,” he said, via ESPN. “Not to that extent. Should I not have done it? No. Did I do it? Yeah. And I own up to that. It was just like in the moment type of deal. Can I say if I would do it differently in that moment? Nah, probably not.”
Moore said he has received nothing but negative feedback this week, with no one complimenting him for the 62-yard touchdown catch with 12 seconds remaining.
“That I should have just kept my helmet on,’' Moore said. “That was the only response at all. It just like negates the pass.”
Moore said he has no opinion about whether the NFL should change the rule that makes it a 15-yard penalty for a player to take his helmet off when celebrating.
“I don’t care,” he said. “At the end of the day, whether I was off the field or on the field, it shouldn’t have mattered. I don’t think it was excessive, but it is what it is.”
Plenty of players think the NFL’s rules limiting celebrations go too far. But every player needs to know that rule, and Moore cost his team with his lapse in judgment, whether he regrets it or not.
