LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Rex Grossman may be the most scrutinized man in America who doesn’t hold political office. But the embattled quarterback showed remarkable resiliency in leading the Bears to their first playoff victory in 12 seasons.

Grossman completed 21 of 38 passes for 282 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception in a stirring 27-24 overtime win over the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional playoffs Sunday at Soldier Field. With the victory, the Bears advanced to the NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1988.

Rex Grossman looks for a receiver during Sunday's 27-24 overtime win over Seattle.

“What I’ve learned is that he knows how to bounce back from tough situations,” said coach Lovie Smith. “He’s been roasted the last couple weeks on all different types of things, but he’s our quarterback and what we see is that when you push him up against the wall, he knows exactly how to come out fighting.”

Grossman’s 76.9 passer rating Sunday was exactly 76.9 points higher than the rating he posted in the forgettable regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers.

“I was happy for him, the way he was able to play and answer his critics,” said left tackle John Tait. “There were a lot of people who were pulling for him. Some of the fans, I think they were waiting to turn on him. But he didn’t give them the opportunity. He played great.

“I don’t think there are many people who could take the amount of criticism that he’s had—and how public it was—and not go in the tank. The guy is resilient and my hat’s off to him.”

Grossman’s 282 yards were the second most in Bears post-season history, trailing only a 286-yard performance by Hall of Famer Sid Luckman in a 41-21 victory over the Washington Redskins in the 1941 NFL championship game.

Grossman engineered drives of 80, 68 and 57 yards as the Bears took a 21-14 halftime lead. In the first half, he completed 10 of 18 passes for 178 yards with 1 TD and a 108.1 passer rating.

The 21 points were the most the Bears have scored in one half of a playoff game since they tallied 23 in both the first and second half in Super Bowl XX.

“In every game you’re not going to play perfect,” Grossman said. “There are several situations where I wish I would have had a few plays back. But for the most part I’m pleased with my performance, and the bottom line is that we won.”

Grossman completed a 37-yard pass to Rashied Davis on the game’s opening possession to set up Thomas Jones’ 7-yard touchdown run. The 2003 first-round draft pick later lofted a perfect 68-yard scoring pass to Bernard Berrian on a post pattern that put the Bears on top 14-7.

After the Seahawks tied the game 14-14, Grossman completed passes of 21 yards to Muhsin Muhammad and 18 yards to Davis, setting up Jones’ 7-yard TD run that gave the Bears a 21-14 lead with :48 remaining in the first half.

“The last drive before the half was huge,” Grossman said. “Those situations come up big down the road, especially when Seattle got momentum (in the third quarter) and started playing well.”

After being plagued by injuries in his first three NFL seasons, Grossman became the first Bears quarterback to start all 16 regular-season games since Erik Kramer in 1995.

“He’s shown that kind of toughness from coming back from all his injuries,” said right guard Roberto Garza. “I think that made him a stronger player mentally and physically, and that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s not going to let anything get him down. He’s really a great leader for us and we’re really happy that he’s our quarterback.”

Grossman has had an up and down season to say the least. The fourth-year pro set a Bears record by registering at least a 100 passer rating in seven games, but he also posted ratings of 0.0, 1.3, 10.2, 23.7 and 36.8. He threw 18 TD passes in the seven good outings—all victories—while tossing 16 interceptions in the five poor performances.

Despite that maddening inconsistency, Grossman’s teammates support him 100 percent.

“You have all the confidence in the world in him because of his ability to make the big play and to come out and keep fighting play after play,” Garza said. “He’s just a guy you can definitely look up to. He’s going to show up to work every single day and give you everything he has. He’s not only a leader by example, but he’s also a guy you can follow.”

Grossman committed one major miscue Sunday, not tucking the ball away while being sacked by Julian Peterson. The blitzing linebacker forced a fumble that defensive tackle Chuck Darby recovered at the Chicago 26, setting up a Seattle touchdown.

Grossman’s lone interception came early in the fourth quarter when his pass squirted through Muhammad’s hands and was picked off by cornerback Pete Taylor. The ball was thrown slightly behind the receiver, but it was one that the two-time Pro Bowler felt he should have caught.

On the Bears’ next possession, a wide-open Berrian dropped a pass on a crossing route in the red zone that likely could have resulted in a touchdown.

“That’s part of the game,” Garza said. “But Rex came out and stepped up and won us a game. The reason we’re in this position is because of his play—obviously the whole team—but he really stepped up when he needed to.”