Lost in Allen Robinson’s huge game against the Giants was a stellar performance from another Bears’ wide receiver: Anthony Miller. Miller, who also had the best game of his season on Sunday afternoon, caught six balls for 77 yards – second most behind Robinson – and looked particularly involved on offense, especially during the second half.
“I feel like any opportunities, I have to take advantage of,” he said on Monday. “That’s what I did yesterday.”
Four of Miller’s six receptions against the Giants came on the same drive, which started midway through the second quarter, at the Bears’ 33-yard line. Trubisky hit the second-year wideout to start, then found him again two plays later for another 14-yard gain.
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“I thought he grew yesterday,” Nagy said. “I thought he became a really good route -- he’s already a good route runner, but he became a good route runner at the right time. They played some man coverage, and I thought he used his leverage really well. He made the catch, he finished.”
After a Bears’ timeout, Trubisky would find Miller *again,* this time on back-to-back completions that put them on New York’s 13 yard line. For what it’s worth, all four of those completions came out of the shotgun, and half of them were in no-huddle.
“I just think it’s hard for defenses to get set up,” Miller said. “We know exactly what we’re doing when we come to the line of scrimmage. We’re just ready for the next play automatically, we all know what to do.”
““He likes that. It’s like everybody,” Nagy added. “You feel good because whether it’s a play that’s being called for you or whether you’re a part of a play that is successful, you get into a little bit of a rhythm.”
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Though he’s struggled with prolonged stretches of invisibility this season, Miller’s targets are starting to return. He’s been thrown at seven times or more on four occasions this season, two of which have come in these last two weeks. Miller’s also had more receptions over that stretch (12) than he did in the previous four games combined (9) – three of which were losses. He’s been in the dog house more than once this season for a handful of different mental lapses, but the Bears insist that’s a thing of the past.
“He said, ‘Give me a chance to not make the same mistake twice,’” Nagy said. “And he hasn’t been doing that. And I think that’s where somebody grows.
“Just for instance: last week, he went a little deep on a route and I guarantee the next time that we call that route he’ll run it at 14 [yards] instead of 16. I just appreciate that about him. He has a lot of confidence. You want to corral that the right way and use it.”
When asked what aspect of Sunday’s performance Miller felt most proud of, he brought up how he stayed away from making any mental mistakes. Playing error-free football helped Miller get into a better rhythm, in turn improving his abilities as a route-runner and at picking up yards after the catch.
“I feel like I was really focused and comfortable out there,” he said. “I was playing my style of football.”
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