The Chicago Bears are just a few days away from opening up their 2019 NFL campaign, as they will take on the Green Bay Packers in their season opener next Thursday.
The Bears won 12 games and captured the NFC North division title last year, so they actually have the upper hand on the Packers for a change.
But will Chicago continue to be the superior ballclub this season? It remains to be seen.
For now, here are three Bears players to watch in Week 1:
3. Anthony Miller
Anthony Miller got off to a very impressive start during his rookie campaign in 2018, consistently representing a threat in the Bears' passing game and breaking out with a five-catch, 122-yard performance in mid-November.
But during the second half of the year, Miller struggled, and over his final four games, he caught just four passes on six targets.
Overall, he ended up with 33 receptions for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
Miller was expected to be a larger part of Chicago's offense heading into 2019, but he underwent shoulder surgery this offseason and did not play in the preseason due to an ankle sprain.
His status for Week 1 is not even yet solidified, but if he plays, it will be interesting to see how much the Bears use him. The kid certainly has talent and could end up being the X-factor in this offense.
The Bears changed up their backfield quite a bit this offseason, trading Jordan Howard, signing Mike Davis and drafting David Montgomery in the third round.
While Davis and Tarik Cohen certainly have seniority over Montgomery, the general consensus is that Montgomery will get a lot of reps this season, as Chicago really seems to like him as its potential running back of the future.
We'll probably get a good idea in Week 1 of how Matt Nagy wants to allocate carries this season and how much he trusts the rookie, who is coming off of an impressive junior campaign at Iowa State in which he racked up 1,216 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The Bears certainly have options on the ground, so it will be intriguing to monitor Montgomery and see whether or not he can leapfrog Davis and Cohen on the depth chart.
Quarterbacks generally don't take a big jump going from Year 1 to Year 2. Usually, it's Year 3 that proves to be the pivotal year, so those of you who are worried about Mitchell Trubisky after a so-so 2018 should relax for now.
It's not even like Trubisky was bad last year, either. He certainly showed improvement from his rookie season, and while he was still more of a game manager in 2018, he definitely took some steps forward.
But, obviously, for a guy who was drafted No. 2 overall, Bears fans are expecting more from Trubisky, and understandably so.
Trubisky's play this season can (and probably will) make all of the difference in Chicago being a Super Bowl contender or just a really good team that won't get that far in the playoffs because of its quarterback play.
It's important for him to get off to a good start in Week 1 to set the tone.
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