The events of Monday night taught me something.

As I watched the Bears fall to the Broncos, I discovered there is at least one more good quarterback in the NFL besides Jim McMahon.

No, I’m not referring to Mike Tomczak.

John Elway, who I’ve often criticized, showed me Monday he is worthy of every bit of praise he receives. The man can plain play quarterback.

Some of the passes he threw—across his body, side arm, on the run—defied explanation, if not belief.

But then again, I couldn’t be too amazed because I have watched McMahon play for the last several years. In that time, I have never doubted he is the best quarterback in the NFL. Nor do I doubt it now.

While the ABC announcing crew piled accolade after accolade onto Elway’s shoulders, McMahon quietly completed 21 of 34 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. It was the first 300-yard game of McMahon’s career. But you can bet there’ll be many more.

For the record, Elway was 21 of 40 for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Not numbers to laughed at, by any means.

Before the game Monday, I was telling everyone who would listen that McMahon would prove he deserved the Heisman the year Elway won it. I said McMahon would show a national audience he is better than Elway.

I still think Jim is better than John. Elway just let me know he is a force to be reckoned with.

Before any McMahon haters get up in arms because I’m holding to my belief he’s the best, consider a few things:

.Before Monday, the Bears had not lost in McMahon’s last 25 starts. Had the offensive line not collapsed near the end of the game and McMahon not gotten injured, I don’t doubt Jim would have pulled another “McMiracle” in the waning seconds of the game, leading the Bears to another cardiac-finish victory.

.McMahon has probably the biggest heart in the league. He has played with injuries ranging from a broken hand to a lacerated kidney to a separated shoulder. Monday it got to the point he could hardly walk, and he still stood out over center until it was no use. It is this kind of heart that makes McMahon the winner he is. And it makes the Bears winners.

.McMahon is not afraid to do anything to make the team win. Many quarterbacks with his medical history would have had nothing to do with tackling a cornerback who was running away with a Bear fumble. McMahon was there to make the tackle and prevent the touchdown.

Now I know McMahon isn’t the nicest guy around, that he is rude and obnoxious, that he holds nothing back regardless of the implications.

I’m also aware he spends a lot of time on injured reserve and I’m afraid of what will happen each time he hits the turf.

And I know that, for those very reasons, there are some people out there, who claim to be Bear fans, who want someone else at quarterback.

Those people must not want the Bears to win. Tomczak and Jim Harbaugh, the team’s reserve quarterbacks, could not win like McMahon.

Tomczak is fine during the pre-season. But put pressure on him and he folds most of the time. He proved that Monday at the end of the game when he threw a screen on fourth and long with time running out.

arbaugh has potential, but he is still a rookie with a lot to learn. Some day he’ll be a good quarterback, but as of now, he cannot replace McMahon.

This is why I fail to understand people who don’t want to see McMahon play for the Bears. If fans want the team to win, they should hope the best players possible on the team get to play.

McMahon is the best player on the Bears. He is the reason the Bears won the Super Bowl—he knows how to play in the big games.

e’ll be the reason the Bears win the Super Bowl again this year. Maybe this time the people who vote for MVP will realize this and give it to him.