Bears WR Miller ejected in season-ending defeat

Dickerson covers the Chicago Bears for ESPN’s NFL Nation. He is the co-host of “Dickerson & Hood” on the ESPN Radio national network, and is heard in Chicago on ESPN 1000.

Anthony Miller became the latest Chicago Bears wide receiver to fall victim to the instigating tactics of New Orleans Saints defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The Bears — already minus rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney — lost Miller for the rest of Sunday’s playoff game inside the Superdome when the third-year wideout was ejected in the third quarter for taking a shot at Gardner-Johnson after the whistle.

Chicago lost, 21-9, after amassing just 239 total yards.

Miller was in the process of walking back to the Bears’ sideline following an incomplete pass when Gardner-Johnson approached Miller from behind and said something that caused Miller to shove him.

The incident was a talking point in the postgame availabilities, and Gardner-Johnson even posted some commentary on Twitter, mentioning that Miller had just a pair of receptions for just 22 yards in the loss as a potential source of his frustration.

The officials also flagged Gardner-Johnson for unsportsmanlike conduct, but only Miller was disqualified from the game.

On Nov. 1, when the Bears and Saints met in the regular season, Chicago wide receiver Javon Wims was ejected for savagely attacking and punching Gardner-Johnson, who earlier in that game had taunted Wims and ripped the young wideout’s mouthpiece off his helmet.

Wims, who dropped a sure touchdown pass on a trick play in the first half of Sunday’s game, received a multigame suspension from the NFL and the Bears for hitting Gardner-Johnson.

Saints star Michael Thomas also punched Gardner-Johnson in practice in October, earning the wide receiver a one-game suspension from New Orleans coach Sean Payton.

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