And while this installment didn’t have QUITE the dramatic that last year’s chapter produced, it produced wild finish nonetheless, one decided by a most unexpected figure.
Who ranked among the subset of winners and losers from a game that could have major playoff implications down the road for a pair of teams with three wins apiece? Here we go …
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels’ game-ending 52-yard heave to WR Noah Brown nearly a year ago gave Washington a stunning 18-15 triumph – one that helped catapult the Commanders to the NFC championship game while sending the Bears into an unrecoverable 10-game slide that cost then-coach Matt Eberflus his job. But no such pyrotechnics on this wet night, Chicago exorcising those demons – for the time being – while running its winning streak to three games.
This was a happy homecoming for the Washington native, though this game was still a microcosm of his still nascent career – frequent flashes expected of a No. 1 overall pick, though barely enough to secure a much-needed win, his proclivity to hold onto the ball too long again rearing its head. But Williams – he passed for 252 yards and a TD and ran for another score – led a mistake-free final drive that culminated in a game-winning field goal while fully bleeding the clock. He’s still chasing Daniels, and probably Drake Maye and perhaps others – draftmate Michael Penix Jr. led an Atlanta Falcons upset of the Buffalo Bills earlier Monday night – in a 2024 draft that seems poised to lend itself to re-legislation for years to come. But this round goes to the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, not Daniels (the 2023 winner).
