The Bears will go into Sunday’s Jets Vs Bears game at Soldier Field without Caleb Williams again, and they still have not said whether Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum will take the first snap in Week 4.
That is the story now because the matchup is here, the injury is not a one-week problem, and the decision under center shapes everything the Bears do against a Jets defense that has allowed just 258.3 yards per game. Chicago enters Week 4 with an offense that has piled up 408.0 yards per game, but that production now has to travel through a backup plan.
Case Keenum gives the Bears a straightforward argument. He threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles, finished with a 110.8 passer rating, and was not sacked or turned over. Tyson Bagent has his own case too, having won two starts as a rookie in 2023 and posting preseason passer ratings of 119.9 in 2024, 106.6 in 2025 and 119.3 in 2026. Ben Johnson has been careful not to tip the answer, saying he feels good about the room and that there is not a bad choice or a wrong choice.
The Bears need that calm because Williams will miss his second straight game after hurting his hamstring in Week 2 against the Vikings, and Bagent also had a concussion after replacing him in that game. Chicago has handled the run well, leading the NFL with 184.3 rushing yards per game, with D'Andre Swift at 253 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 54 carries and Kyle Monangai at 178 yards and one touchdown on 30 attempts. But the passing decision remains unresolved, and it matters against a Jets team that has given up just 171.0 passing yards per game and has not registered an interception since the source cut off.
The Jets come in at 1-2 after opening with a 23-10 win at Tennessee, then losing 20-17 in overtime to the Packers at home and 31-24 to the Lions in Detroit. Aaron Glenn has his team facing a Bears staff led by Johnson, and the connection runs deeper than this week: both coaches left Detroit after the 2024 season for their current jobs. The matchup also ties Glenn to Dennis Allen, who played alongside him at Texas A&M in 1992-93, coached him with the Saints in 2008 and again in New Orleans from 2016 to 2020.
That background only adds to the pressure on a game that now turns on a simple call: whether Chicago trusts Bagent’s prior starts or Keenum’s clean performance against the Eagles to steady the offense while Williams waits to return. Johnson said he is looking forward to seeing what it looks like on Sunday, and by then the Bears will have to turn that confidence into an actual answer.
