All in all the night for the Chicago Bears starting offense in Denver was a mixed bag. A lot of good and some really bad. Mitch Trubisky had a couple of rough plays including a bobbled snap and an ill-advised throw that was intercepted. In fairness the snap was high and Tarik Cohen ran a poor route on the pick. Still, he needs to be better. It’s easy to forget how new this system is.
It hasn’t even logged a full game of snaps yet. Flawless execution was never going to happen right away. So people need to calm their nerves when they see mistakes happening. Especially when it comes in preseason games. One must take the negatives in stride while trying to focus on the positives, and there were plenty.
Jordan Howard is still really good. The offensive line held up well in pass protection. The big story of the game though was the emergence of some of the new weapons the Bears spent all offseason adding. Two in particular stood out.
Trey Burton and Anthony Miller had coming out party in Bears offense
Free agent tight end Trey Burton was signed by the Bears with the idea he’d make a great fit in the Nagy offense. This night showed glimpses of what they were talking about. Burton lined up all over the field and created plenty of matchup problems. He was open on several plays and made four catches for 45 yards including a wide open seven-yard touchdown.
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Perhaps the more exciting development though came from Anthony Miller. The highly-touted rookie wide receiver had a quiet debut in Cincinnati. It seems that did not satisfy him, so he made sure his presence was felt in Denver. Boy did he ever. His first catch was probably the play of the game.
Trubisky ran a roll out to his left and fired a pass on the run. It cleared two defenders and Miller went up to get it while still keeping his feet inbounds.
Later Miller had another nice play. Chase Daniel hit him on a crossing route. The pass was a little behind him. Miller caught it with ease anyway, stiff-armed a defender out of the way and ran the ball 10 yards for a first down. This showcased how dangerous he can be after the catch. He plays angry. Another reason the Bears loved him.
Keep in mind this is before other notable names like Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel have even gotten heavily involved in the offense. We still haven’t seen the full depth of what this rebuilt unit can do. Given the preview Burton and Miller just provided, it’s hard not feel a thrill of excitement.
