LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Detoured by two well-documented leg injuries, it took Bears quarterback Rex Grossman much longer than he had anticipated to reach this point in his career.

But having made his 16th regular-season start Sunday night against the Giants—the equivalent of one complete year of NFL service—the 2003 first-round pick is pleased with where he is and excited about where he could soon be.

Rex Grossman has had reason to celebrate this season, leading the Bears to the top of the NFC standings with an 8-1 record.

“I think I’m playing pretty well right now,” Grossman said. “The whole thing with limiting some of the bad plays—the interceptions that I don’t really have an excuse for—(if it weren’t for) some of those plays that I’d love to eliminate, then I would be extremely pleased with how I’m playing.

“There are a handful of plays that have stopped me from having the type of season that I want. But we’re 8-1 and that’s all that matters right now. We’re in a great situation and it’s a great position to be in.”

Grossman has led the Bears to a 12-4 record as a starter while completing 262 of 469 passes for 3,305 yards with 21 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. His stats are comparable to those of Brett Favre, who passed for 3,390 yards with 20 TDs and 17 interceptions in his first 16 pro starts in 1992-93.

This season, Grossman is tied for second in the NFL with 17 TD passes, just one behind leader Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. The former Florida star also ranks eighth with 2,095 yards and 12th with an 83.6 passer rating.

Grossman rebounded from a slow start against the Giants, throwing three TD passes in a nine-minute span as the Bears turned a 13-3 deficit into a 24-13 lead en route to a 38-20 victory. Struggling early, he registered a 0.0 passer rating while completing just 1 of his first 6 passes with an interception and a fumble.

“It was a combination of the Giants playing well and them having better looks than we did on certain plays, and then when we had a better look, we just weren’t executing and it stalled us out on a few drives,” Grossman said.

“Then all of a sudden we started playing well and we started getting good looks. We had them on their heels and we had the momentum and never let it go. It was fun to see us bounce back from some adversity and really stick with it. No one panicked or anything. We just went about our business and finally got things going and got on a roll.”

After stumbling out of the gate, Grossman completed 17 of 24 passes for 233 yards with three TDs, no interceptions and a 141.1 passer rating. Over the game’s final 33 minutes, he completed 11 of 13 passes for 190 yards with three touchdowns.

“I realized that it’s a long game and it was a bad start,” Grossman said. “I had plenty of time to get things rolling again and that’s what we did. It was unfortunate and I was upset, but it didn’t affect the way I was going to play or the way I was going to approach the game.”

When asked about his poise, Grossman said: “I’d like to think that that’s the way I was brought up and there’s something about me that does that. But it’s funny how fickle everything is. You win, you’re poised and this and that. And last week, I couldn’t handle the pressure of the Dolphins getting to me. So it’s always nice when you win, I’ll just say that.”

Grossman has had an abundance of praise and criticism alternately heaped on his back after up and down performances in recent weeks. His passer rating the past five games has been 101.2 vs. the Bills, 10.2 vs. the Cardinals, 137.4 vs. the 49ers, 36.8 vs. the Dolphins and 105.7 vs. the Giants.

Playing the most important position in America’s largest city with one pro football team, Grossman knows that everything he does both on and off the field will be magnified. But he takes both the good and the bad in stride.

“I remember the first time I got my name in the paper when I was a freshman in high school,” he said. “It was the coolest thing. But now I really don’t care, I’m sorry. I try not to get excited either way. I try not to get too down or too high because that can affect your emotions and the way you prepare.

"Not paying attention to too much outside of football is probably the best way to approach things.”