NEWSLETTER
The NFL storybooks are filled with tales of great rivalries.
Halas-Lombardi. Cowboys-Eagles. Steelers-Ravens. Bears fans-PFF.
Ahh, yes. The online feud between #BearsTwitter and Pro Football Focus is one of those things you can’t help but get wrapped up in. Between disagreements regarding assessments of Mitchell Trubisky’s play, individual player grades, and other perceived slights, there’s been plenty of chatter from both sides of the aisle. But today, I’d like to extend an olive branch for the two entities to strike a truce in the wake of recent data:
The highest-graded offensive players in Week 1 🏆 pic.twitter.com/WrTDNtYCQs
— PFF (@PFF) September 15, 2020
Anthony Miller was the site’s second-highest-graded wide receiver in Week 1, and for his efforts, he was named to PFF’s Team of the Week and landed in the FLEX spot. Even though Miller was the only Bears player to earn a spot among Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded players, I see this as proof that the site isn’t out to get Chicago’s football team.
C’mon now, Miller sure did earn his place at the top last week!
I can’t get enough of these catches, and I bet you can’t either. So I’m going to share them until the cows come home:
.@AnthonyMiller_3 FOR DA LEAD!!!
📺: FOX #CHIvsDET | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/S0dLCQLNL9
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 13, 2020
Another great catch by the #Bears. A one-handed grab on the sideline by Anthony Miller. Wow. pic.twitter.com/lv1ShPzXu4
— Jonathan Deutsch (@JonathanD_TV) September 13, 2020
Miller hauled in four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. That score happened to be the game-winner that came in a high leverage spot, so it’s not as if Miller was racking up garbage-time yards and points. He did the exact opposite as he came through with the biggest plays during the biggest spots. So it’s good to see him get the type of recognition he deserves for his contributions in Sunday’s win.
More importantly, we might be seeing the start of Miller’s long-awaited breakout. During the offseason, I wondered if Miller was learning things from Michael Jordan while he was tweeting during “The Last Dance” docu-series on ESPN. And while I held out hope that a breakout was on the horizon, I knew Miller would need to find more consistency in his game. We’ll see if he can do that over the next few weeks. In the meantime, we have to point out that Miller put in work in the offseason to enhance his game. He even worked with Mitchell Trubisky away from Halas Hall in a move that appears to have paid early dividends.
It’s good to see hard work in practice rewarded in games. Let’s face it. Not all hard work gets the same payoff. And if Miller continues to shine, then the Bears’ receivers room will be a strength. Well, at least so long as there are two go-to pass-catchers worth worth targeting.
