Getty WRs Anthony Miller and Riley Ridley of the Chicago Bears. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
This has been the tale of two seasons for Chicago Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller. Miller had a very slow start this year. He played just 16 snaps in the Bears’ first game of the season, a 10-3 loss at home to the Green Bay Packers, and it wasn’t until the season was about half over that Miller started to heat up.
Miller had just one target and zero catches in the Bears’ first game against the Packers, and just one catch for two yards Week 2 against the Broncos. He had a total of 17 receptions through Week 10–and then, Week 11, something clicked, and it has been clicking ever since. Miller has 24 catches in the team’s last four games to go with 313 receiving yards, and he scored his first touchdown of the season against the Dallas Cowboys last week.
When asked by reporters Wednesday how this current Bears team is different now than they were Week 1, Miller said: “I just think we’ve come a long way … our back’s against the wall now.”
Bears Anthony Miller Talks Matchup vs Green Bay
GettyAnthony Miller of the Chicago Bears has been playing extremely well of late.
Miller told reporters that the Bears haven’t been focusing on any specific teams or matchups, nor are they thinking about how badly they played Week 1. “We haven’t even been thinking about that. We’ve just been taking things one game at a time and just focusing on what we can do to win those games because that’s what has been important,” Miller said.
When asked what he remembered about the frustrations surrounding the team’s Week 1 defeat at the hands of the rival Packers, Miler said: “I don’t remember too much. I don’t think I played too much in that game, but it’s gonna be different this game,” Miller stated.
Miller also noted a few changes he’s seen in quarterback Mitchell Trubisky recently. “Over the past couple weeks, stacking these wins up, he’s been just a very vocal guy, just making sure everybody’s on point. He’s been more … I wouldn’t say demanding, but definitive,” Miller said of Trubisky.
At the end of his interview session, Miller was asked again if he remembered anything about the game against the Packers. “Nope,” he said. “You wiped it from your memory?” the reporter asked as a follow-up. “Yep,” Miller said matter of factly, before acknowledging the game’s importance.
“It’s gonna be intense, and I think we’re gonna be ready,” Miller said. Intense is certainly one word for it. If the Bears win in Lambeau on Sunday, they’ll keep their minimal playoff hopes alive. If they lose to the Packers, their season will effectively be over.
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