Head coach Joe Gibbs praised the effort of his team during his Monday press conference and pointed to several heroic performances during Sunday's 13-10 win over the Chicago Bears.

Time and again, players returned to the field despite injuries.

"Take Fred Smoot," Gibbs said. "He had two shoulders that were hurt. He came back and made a great play at the end of the game. He was terrific."

Defensive lineman Cornelius Griffin and Renaldo Wynn also played through injuries. Griffin had a shoulder injury and came back in to record sacks on consecutive plays in the fourth quarter. Wynn had a hamstring injury and refused to come out of the game.

Running back Clinton Portis took several hard hits in Sunday's game, but he bounced back to rush for 171 yards on 36 carries.

"We had a number of guys who could have easily sat out and didn't," Gibbs said. "They came back and played great."

Why is their effort so important to him?

"What I try to tell the players is, we're looking for long term and we're looking for a core group of guys," he said. "What are those kinds of guys? They're Redskins. What does that mean? It means what's happening right now on our football team.

"A guy gets two shoulder stingers and goes back in to make two of the biggest plays of the game. We have those types of stories going on, and if you have the right kind of character, you'll find a core group to build long term. We're looking for tough guys who are smart guys."

Due to the bye week, the Redskins are not required to submit an injury report. While the team's injuries from Sunday's game are not believed to be serious, the players' official status will be determined next week.