LAKE FOREST, Ill. – After starting Kyle Orton against the Chiefs and Rex Grossman versus the Seahawks, Bears coach Lovie Smith has yet to announce which quarterback will open Thursday night’s preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field. 

“We’ll evaluate all of that,” Smith said following Saturday night’s 29-26 overtime loss in Seattle. “We had made a decision how we were going to start the first two games and that’s about as far as we’ve gone. We’ll let you know on everything else.”

Kyle Orton led the Bears to a field goal late in the first half of Saturday night's overtime loss in Seattle.

Some have speculated that whoever starts the third preseason game—which is traditionally a dress rehearsal for the regular season—will also be under center when the Bears open the season against the Indianapolis Colts Sept. 7 in the inaugural game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The quarterbacks themselves have no idea where the competition stands. Asked by a reporter whether he felt like he had won the job after directing an efficient two-minute drill Saturday night against the Seahawks, Orton said: “I don’t know any more than you all do.”

Grossman revealed that he also has been kept in the dark.

“I’m not expecting anything,” said the 2003 first-round draft pick from Florida. “They haven’t told me anything. I’m just showing up trying to do the best I can.”

Grossman was under constant pressure against the Seahawks. On five possessions, he completed 9 of 15 passes for 74 yards with 1 interception and a 44.9 passer rating while quarterbacking an offense that failed to cross midfield.

While Smith acknowledged that it would be difficult to evaluate Grossman’s performance given the intense pressure he faced, the Bears coach also said: “As an offense we didn’t play well [and] Rex is a part of that. That’s kind of how it goes sometimes. You still want someone to step up and make a play, but we didn’t really have a lot of opportunities.”

“Everything’s part of the process,” added offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “It’s not just about one guy. It’s about the entire offense. It took us a long time to get in synch. We didn’t give ourselves a chance to get anything going early because we kept hurting ourselves.”

The Bears failed to pick up a first down on four of their first six possessions due in part to five penalties for 45 yards, a dropped pass by rookie Earl Bennett and several protection breakdowns.

The offensive line struggled, with left guard Josh Beekman drawing penalties for holding and a false start and right tackle John Tait getting beat for a sack by defensive end Darryl Tapp, whose blindside hit on Grossman led directly to an interception.

Grossman also conceded that his failure to recognize a third-down blitz on the game’s third play from scrimmage resulted in a sack, forcing the Bears to punt.

“We didn’t play real smart,” Grossman said. “We will go back to the drawing board as far as our approach. We have to play a lot smarter in every single area. In order to be successful, you have to go up and down the field and score points.”

Combating Seattle’s intense pass rush with a series of three-step drops, the Bears finally started to move the ball early in the second quarter. Grossman completed 5 of 5 passes for 43 yards on one drive that began at the Chicago 7, but it eventually stalled just shy of midfield.

“Throughout the normal course of a game, momentum switches and you get to get into the flow of the game,” Grossman said. “They got after us early. We had a couple good drives. Usually you can ride some of those momentum shifts and get after them a little bit. We did at times, but not anything to write home about.”

After going 0 of 2 on his first possession, Orton operated a two-minute drill with efficiency. The former Purdue star engineered a 10-play, 51-yard drive in just 1:34, completing 5 of 7 passes for 43 yards to set up Robbie Gould’s 39-yard field goal with :21 left in the half.

“That’s one positive,” Turner said. “We moved the ball in the two-minute drill. Once we settled down, which was midway through the second quarter, we started playing a little bit better. But early we weren’t settled down, we weren’t in synch.”

Brandon Lloyd caught four of Orton’s passes on the two-minute drill and had receptions on three straight plays including a 17-yarder on which he dragged both of his feet inside the sideline.

“We practice that every day,” Smith said of the two-minute drill. “Kyle made some good throws. Brandon Lloyd came up big. That’s the way you like to see an offense execute.”

Orton, who was replaced by Caleb Hanie at the outset of the second half, completed 5 of 9 passes for 43 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and a 68.3 passer rating on two possessions.

Asked whether he felt he took strides against the Seahawks, Orton said: “I think I’ve taken strides every practice. I feel great where my game’s at and just my understanding of the offense. I just hope it continues.”