The Chicago Bears know they’re in a tight spot. If they want any hope of making the playoffs this year, they have to sweep December. Something that looks incredibly daunting at this point. All four teams they’re set to face are in the playoff picture. Three of them are currently leading their divisions. Not an ideal situation, but that’s the reality of things. The Bears though have won three of their last four games and are about to get Akiem Hicks back from injury.
So there’s at least some momentum on their side. In addition to playing at Soldier Field in the wintertime. The question is can their offense, which has struggled most of this season, function against a pretty good Dallas Cowboys defense that is coming in. It’s tough, aggressive, and disciplined. On the surface, it looks like the Bears will have a tough time attacking them. That is unless they’ve been paying close attention the past few weeks.
For all the good things Dallas has done this year, they are proving vulnerable in one area. That is against slot receivers. Several times they’ve been gashed by that position which made big differences in each of their most recent losses.
- Jamison Crowder – 6 catches, 98 yards
- Stefon Diggs – 3 catches, 49 yards
- Julian Edelman – 8 catches, 93 yards
- Cole Beasley – 6 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD
Why is this such a big deal? Mostly because the Bears’ own slot receiver, Anthony Miller, is on a hot streak of late.
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Chicago Bears should be able to feed Miller on Thursday
The former 2nd round pick had such a strong rookie year in 2018. Expectations were high for the young receiver but for whatever reason, Miller struggled through the first two months. That has changed in a big way over the past three games. In that span, he has 21 catches for 271 yards. his 140-yard explosion against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving was a vital component to the Bears pulling off their comeback victory.
It’s clear Miller is starting to feel it.
The timing couldn’t be better. Dallas is reeling from two tough losses and their defense is vulnerable to the area he has begun to dominate. If the Bears have been doing their film study, they’ll have noticed this. A smart coaching staff would thus build their game plan around getting Miller the football to see if the Cowboys can stop him. It’s worth mentioning that Chicago is 4-2 since the beginning of 2018 when Miller has at least five catches in a game.
