Even Sean Payton admits Zach Miller really did catch that TD that nearly cost him his leg

It's been more than six months since Bears tight end Zach Miller nearly lost his leg after he seemingly came down with an incredible touchdown catch against the Saints, only to have that touchdown overturned due to an official review that never really made complete sense. Six months later, Saints coach Sean Payton has admitted that Miller, now a free agent, did indeed catch that football and should've been rewarded with a touchdown.

Appearing on the "Pardon My Take" podcast, Payton talked about the Miller non-touchdown, admitted that it should've been called a touchdown, and then revealed that he visited Miller at the hospital in New Orleans.

"It was a touchdown," he said. "And it was terrible, the injury he had. He spent the better part of a week here. ... It was crazy."

Later he added, "Listen, he's a great guy. I had never met him until he was in the hospital. So I went in and saw him that next week. We were bringing him some meals. It was real serious with the injury. ... And the non-touchdown. ... He did more than break his leg."

The catch -- rather, the non-catch -- happened on Oct. 29 (Week 8). During the third quarter, Miller seemingly caught a perfectly placed pass from Mitchell Trubisky to cut into the Saints' lead. Live, it didn't even look like a controversial catch. 

But after an automatic review, the call was inexplicably overturned. The Bears settled for a field goal. They would eventually lose the game by eight points, with that overturned touchdown looming large. Immediately after the game, Payton called it a "50-50" decision.

"It felt like there were three or four today that could've gone either way," he said. "Honestly, I felt like we had good angles and I felt like it was 50-50. I thought Ingram's last fumble was 50-50. I really didn't know. I was like everyone else, just waiting to see. You're hoping you'll get the breaks you need. We got a few and we didn't get a few. It was probably the way the game should have gone."

The outcome of the game or the play seems insignificant in comparison to what Miller went through. Then-coach John Fox told reporters after the game that Miller dislocated his knee and was taken to the hospital. As Payton said, he remained in New Orleans while the Bears headed back to Chicago. Later, the Bears announced that Miller underwent emergency vascular surgery to repair a torn popliteal artery. 

Miller opened up about the harrowing experience in December, revealing that he nearly lost his leg.

Even before this past season, Miller's career had been disrupted by untimely injuries, but he'd found a way in recent years to catch on with the Bears. From 2015-17, he caught 101 passes for 1,161 yards and 11 touchdowns in 33 games. Now, he's trying to make his way back onto the field after undergoing at least nine surgeries since the injury. It's not yet known if he'll be able to do so, and the Bears brought in free agent tight end Trey Burton this offseason to pair with 2017 second-round pick Adam Shaheen.

Meanwhile, the league tweaked the always-confusing catch rule this offseason. Under the new rules, Miller's near-touchdown would've been ruled a touchdown.