The Chicago Bears have another quarterback decision to make this week before facing the New York Jets on Sunday and I’m not entirely confident that head coach Ben Johnson will make that decision publicly known when he speaks to the media later today.

It’s likely the Bears at the very least rule out Caleb Williams, who did not participate again in practice on Thursday, leaving it a two-player decision for who starts in Week 4 between Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent. There’s some competitive edge to not revealing who the starter will be, especially with Johnson going up against a former friend in Aaron Glenn.

When Johnson spoke with reporters on Wednesday, he reiterated his confidence in all three quarterbacks’ ability to win football games but slid in the fact that the “direction has already been made” internally. Still, the Bears have tried to keep things close to the chest.

“We’re always going to kind of readjust or recalibrate every single week and see what applies this week, what gives us the best opportunity moving forward,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said on Thursday.

Did Case Keenum show enough to make his case?

Last week, veteran Case Keenum got the nod, solely because Tyson Bagent missed nearly the entire week of practice while dealing with a concussion. It was Keenum’s first regular season start since 2023 with the Houston Texans and the 38-year-old gunslinger made the most of his opportunity back in the saddle.

Keenum led the Bears to a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in a game best fit for a Disney movie adaptation. The veteran executed the offense at a high level, picked apart Vic Fangio’s defense, and was perfect against the blitz.

“I’ve been making my case for 15 years,” Keenum said. “I’m trying to win ballgames. I didn’t go out there to try to make a case to be anybody except myself, and I’m feeling pretty good about winning the football game, and we won, so that’s how I feel about that.”

There were some signs of concern, such as Keenum staying in the pocket all night and not having the velocity on the outside throws that another team could use to attack him after getting a full game of tape on him running this offense. That said, there was plenty of great things Keenum showed in that game that could carry over.

“Nobody is a bigger cheerleader and fan of Case Keenum than I am,” Bagent said. “I think he’s the epitome of what I believe a quarterback is and is supposed to be. So it was fun to watch him play.”

What should the Bears expect from Tyson Bagent if he in fact gets the nod?

Immediately after the game, Johnson reinforced his confidence in Bagent, who is more of an unknown in terms of what to expect. The former undrafted quarterback has started only four regular season games, and zero under this offense. Yet, Johnson believes he’s one of the best backups in the league, if not the best, after seeing him operate day-to-day for the last two years.

“He operates the system at a high level,” Taylor said of Bagent. “He’s an extremely intelligent person, extremely competitive person. You sense a little bit of him and Ben are kind of similar in the competitive edge that they both carry. And also the intelligence they carry.”

We’ve seen Bagent play at a very high level in this offense, but that was in the preseason. Doing it in the regular season is a different story and Bagent’s last regular season stint in 2023 brought a mixed bag of results. But, that was nearly three years ago. Bagent has learned a lot since then and his understanding of this offense is real, as is his talent.

“The situation I’m in is unbelievable to me, so nothing changes whether I’m in or not, mindset-wise,” Bagent said. “And I’m always gonna go in and try to execute each individual play to the best of my ability.”

If the Bears turn to Bagent, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter believes they will, it will be a massive opportunity for Bagent to prove to the world why this team is so confident in him. And if they don’t, it’ll prove that Keenum earned his opportunity to stay on the saddle for a second consecutive week.

“That’s part of this job: preparing,” Keenum said. “And when preparation meets the opportunity, that’s what it looks like, and if his name is called, I expect the same, if not better. He’s a baller. Whatever happens, I’m excited to see what happens.”