As I watched Drake Maye and the New England Patriots knock off Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills in prime time last week, I felt strongly that this particular win over the Bills simply meant more. Sure, they’ve beaten Buffalo and a few other good teams since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season. But it simply felt different—like it was leading toward something bigger.

I had a similar feeling watching the Bears grind out their Week 6 win over the Commanders on Jake Moody’s game-winning field goal.

Let me explain.

In no way was the Bears’ last-second victory some kind of dominant performance over an elite team (though the 2024 NFC runner-up Commanders are still very good). All told, their sloppy, penalty-ridden, poorly executed performance gets a C- in my book. Even putting aside some of t

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