One of the main men in the upcoming NFL playoffs just played the eighth game of his career — and he's been in the league three years.

If that sounds odd, such is the case of the NFL, where there isn't much difference between one team and the next.

Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman’s career has taken strange twists to get him to this point as a starter for one of the league’s top contenders. The type of twists that lead to injury.

Grossman helped the Bears to their second victory since he took over for rookie Kyle Orton. The 24-17 victory at Green Bay wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it did put the Bears in an enviable position.

Chicago clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. While the Bears remain more of an example of the flawed NFC, the arrival of Grossman does give them something they lacked.

A quarterback with supreme confidence.

Nothing against Orton here, but the playoffs aren’t really a place for guys who can’t hit a 15-yard out under pressure. Being a caretaker is one thing. Being so limited that your coaches are afraid to take any chances is another.

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That was Orton, a fine-looking prospect when you consider that he was a fourth-round pick. But he was pretty much the typical rookie, a guy who opposing teams figured out. The only reason the Bears were winning was total dependency on their defense.

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved years ago under former coach Tony Dungy, leaning that heavily on the defense just doesn’t work.

Enter Grossman, who spent the first 12 games of the season recovering from a broken ankle in August. The same Grossman who missed 13 games in 2004 with a knee injury.

The same Grossman who the Bears invested a first-round pick on in 2003. One of Grossman’s greatest qualities is his unmitigated gall. At the University of Florida, he was known for his brash style and willingness to throw into the teeth of a defense.

“What I loved about him is that he played in a great conference in college, for a tough coach (former UF coach Steve Spurrier recruited Grossman) who put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and never lost an ounce of confidence,” Chicago general manager Jerry Angelo said before Grossman got hurt this year. “He’s got a great arm and he knows it. He doesn’t have perfect size, but everything about him says to me that he’s going to be a winner.”         

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But Grossman’s ability is more than about simply his presence. As Angelo noted, Grossman has a big arm. On Sunday at Green Bay, playing in an intense atmosphere in his first start, he opened the game with a deep pass that fell incomplete. But it was a sign of things to come as the Bears scored to take a 7-0 lead.

Along the way, Grossman hit a 21-yard throw on third-and-8. He hit a 20-yarder on second-and-8. Finally, on third-and-goal from the 12, he hit a touchdown pass to veteran wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad.

Later in the first half, after Green Bay had tied it, Grossman hit a 54-yard pass over the top of a blitz by the Packers. But Grossman did little celebrated. Rather, he worked the refs for a roughing the passer call that tacked on another 9 yards an put the Bears at first-and-goal.

While Grossman’s stats weren’t astounding (11 for 23, 166 yards), he did exactly what the Bears needed. He got them an early lead that allowed them to lean on the defense and he did it with some key pass plays that Orton was simply incapable of hitting.

In other words, this is not a starry-eyed youngster playing awe of the situation. Even though Grossman was playing against one of his heroes — Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre — he was all business.

For the Bears, that’s crucial as they try to get through the suspect NFC playoff field. They have dominated the conference this season, going 10-1. The defense is exceptional and clearly the most physical in the NFC.

Now, if Grossman and the offense can do just enough, a shot at the Super Bowl isn’t out of the question.

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