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Favre wins what could be final game of career

Jan 1, 2007 - 6:01 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Brett Favre proved he has plenty left to give. Rex Grossman proved he may not be ready for the playoffs.

In what may have been the final game of his illustrious career, Favre passed for a touchdown to lead the Green Bay Packers to a 26-7 victory over the Chicago Bears, who received a miserable performance from Grossman.

A three-time NFL Most Valuable Player and the second all-time leading passer with 57,500 yards, Favre has not yet decided whether to return to the Packers or retire. He contemplated retirement after last season, but decided to return.

With his wife and daughter in attendance, Favre extended his own NFL record with his 237th consecutive start. He completed 21-of-42 passes for 285 yards, including a nine-yard TD pass to Donald Driver in the first quarter.

Favre was carried to the sidelines by Driver with under two minutes remaining and received hugs from teammates. Favre even was teary-eyed in a postgame interview on NBC.

"If it is my last game I wanted to remember it," Favre told NBC when asked if he planned to retire.

Favre does know what's next for him.

"I have ankle surgery tomorrow in Green Bay and we'll go from there," he said. If Favre decides to return next season, he will have a chance to surpass Hall of Famer Dan Marino's record of 420 career touchdowns. Favre threw for 18 TDs this season, leaving him with 414 in his career.

"I had a blast with these guys," Favre said. "You don't think about particular plays or games as much as you do plane rides, locker rooms, the guys. The guys are what I remember the most."

"Most players want to go out with some gas left in the tank. His is more than three quarters full," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

While Favre could head into retirement, the Bears (13-3) look to have major issues at quarterback despite owning home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Grossman had what amounted to another alarming effort while playing just the first half as he completed only 2-of-12 passes for 33 yards and two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns. He also lost a fumble and left the field to a chorous of boos at halftime.

Like he looked like on the field, Grossman was clueless afterward. "I'm trying to figure that out myself," he said. "Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Whether it was a tipped pass or my reads. Everything didn't seem right tonight and we have to go back to the drawing board a little bit and have a sense of urgency about us heading into the playoffs."

"The plan was to play Rex into the thrid quarter," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "After you have a game like that, there's no need in putting him back into the game. And it wasn't just Rex, it's the entire team. Tonight wasn't our night."

It marked the fifth game this season in which Grossman threw at least three interceptions. He finished the season with 23 TDs and 20 interceptions.

"He's a young player and that's part of it. Part of growing up," Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "The consistency is something that will be there, it's just a matter of time. He's played really well at times this year, and we need to focus on why the times he's played really well and why."

Brian Griese failed to give Smith any more confidence at the quarterback position. He went 5-of-15 for 124 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.

The Bears will host a divisional playoff game on January 13 or 14.

Free safety Nick Collins returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and cornerback Patrick Dendy brought back a pick 30 yards for a score in the second quarter for the Packers (8-8), who finished at .500 after going just 4-12 last season.