Jed Jacobsohn/AP
The NFL season is long and grueling — keep in mind that training camp started nearly six months ago — so coaches and players constantly come up with ways to self-motivate, even if they have to trick themselves.
Over the course of the regular season, the Bears told themselves whatever was necessary to take some of the league’s lowliest opponents seriously. The Saints’ record of 1-5 at the time did not “show what type of team they are,” quarterback Caleb Williams said, and the Giants, the fifth-worst team in the NFL, presented “a huge challenge,” according to coach Ben Johnson.