Making his first start since breaking his ankle during the preseason, Grossman completed 11 of 23 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown during Chicago's 24-17 victory over Green Bay on Christmas Day.
Having already secured a first-round bye and home-field advantage for their first playoff game, the Bears (11-4) face a meaningless game tomorrow at Minnesota. But instead of sitting out, Grossman hopes to play a lot and work off any remaining rust.
"I just want to play well, stay in rhythm and get some more exposure to actually playing," Grossman said Wednesday. "Anytime you get reps in anything, you're going to get better. I'm going to let the coaches weigh the risk-and-reward there."
Grossman has started only seven games in his injury-plagued three-year career. He sustained a season-ending knee injury last year at Minnesota, but Grossman said he had no trepidation about returning.
"It's going to be fun to go back and play there," he said. "Obviously, I'm going to remember what happened, but I'm glad I get a chance to go back."
THAT SUFFERING SEASON
Philadelphia (6-9) can ruin Washington's season by defeating the Redskins tomorrow. But even a victory would be of little consolation to Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, who never imagined Philadelphia having such a poor season after reaching the Super Bowl.
The suspension and eventual banishment of Terrell Owens and the season-ending injury to Donovan McNabb were the lowlights in Philadelphia's demise. The Eagles missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999 and will not play in the NFC championship game for the first time since 2000.
"There were so many things that happened this year, it's been ridiculous," Dawkins said on Wednesday. "This is nowhere close to the season that we wanted to have.
"Some guys are going to be here; some guys are not going to be here," he said. "But the guys who are going to be here, we need them to come back next year with a chip on their shoulder, of what this year was and about how embarrassing it was. It was a horrible year in every aspect of the word `horrible.' I am not going to settle, and hopefully guys won't settle either."
RSS