LAKE FOREST, Ill. – DJ Moore went viral for the wrong reason, with the Bears receiver caught on camera stepping out of bounds and heading for the bench while quarterback Caleb Williams was scrambling trying to make a play.

It wasn’t a great look, but Moore had his reasons for bailing on the play.

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“Tweaked the ankle,” Moore said in his Wednesday press conference. “I was coming back because I’d seen Caleb was scrambling. My ankle went in and out. I was already – couldn’t stop so my momentum took me out of bounds and then I just walked off. The noise, I hear it, seen it. Really didn’t care. It is what it is.”

Here’s the play in its entirety:

As you can see, Moore definitely pulls up lame prior to hitting the sideline. Moore then stepped out of bounds and immediately hobbled.

In addition, he was no longer an eligible receiver in that moment. He could have re-established himself inbounds and then become a viable target, but Moore didn’t go that route due to his ankle. Williams continued to look downfield and eventually threw it to Keenan Allen, who was flagged for offensive pass interference.

“The initial roll of the ankle was hurting bad, so that’s why I like hobbled off and sat down,” Moore said. “I came back in and was kind of like (long pause) how do you say it – reindeering? I don’t know, whatever it’s called, however you do it – just (prancing) down the middle of the field. But, I mean, I didn’t stop playing the game. I didn’t not go back in the game. That’s what it was.”

Moore said he continued to treat the ankle on the sideline, which allowed him to stay in the game. He ended up playing 99 percent of the offensive snaps.

“It didn’t clear up right away,” I was doing a bunch of stuff on the sideline to keep me going throughout the game. That’s what kept me going.”