The Bears conducted a walk-through Wednesday. But had they held a regular practice, quarterback Caleb Williams would have been a full participant for the first time since injuring his hamstring in a Week 2 game against the Vikings.

Despite that positive development, it remains unknown whether Williams, Tyson Bagent or Case Keenum will start Sunday's game against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Coach Ben Johnson told reporters: "It's still fluid, but I feel good about the plan that we have in place at this point," later adding: "We're going to figure out what's best for this football team on who plays on Sunday.

"First and foremost, health is the No. 1 priority for all three guys. I don't know that any of them are exactly 100% at this point in the season. That's something that we certainly look at. We want whoever is out there to have a good rapport with the offensive line, with the operation, with our pass catchers.

"We want to make sure that we can get in a rhythm, which we weren't able to do last week [in Green Bay] as an offense. So, sure, it all goes into account here: What do we need to do first and foremost for this week, and then a big picture view."

In the three games that Williams has missed, Johnson feels that the Bears offense has lacked consistency and intends to employ a "back-to-the-basics" approach.

"Our playstyle needs to show up on a regular basis," Johnson said. "We've had more three-and-outs than we would like. The turnovers were a major issue last game. It's getting back to what we did all through camp and how we started the first week of the season. I don't know that we've done that at a consistent level since then.

"It's a little bit more back to the basics for us as a unit, taking the volume down in terms of the plays going into the game plan here for a base day a little bit and make sure we get real good at the little things. I think sometimes when things go haywire, that's usually the best reaction is to make sure that we're just going back to what we believe in and what we're about.

"We need to play hard, we need to play through the whistle, we need to make sure we're taking care of all the little fundamentals that we harp on, that we've been harping on since the springtime. Certainly, as a play caller, I've got to help get these guys in a better rhythm to move the ball down the field."

Void to fill

The NFL announced Tuesday that the league was suspending Bears defensive end Montez Sweat for two games without pay for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.

"We're disappointed whenever we lose a player of his caliber for multiple games," Johnson said. "We want all of our guys available and playing in ballgames to help us win. That's really what it is. Next man up and we keep moving."

Third-year defensive end Austin Booker, who leads the Bears with 4.0 sacks but has played only 58% of the defensive snaps this season, could see expanded action.

When they visit the Falcons Sunday, the Bears likely will also be without defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who exited last weekend's game in Green Bay with a quad injury.

"Unknown quite yet how long he could potentially be out," Johnson said. "We don't feel like it's serious enough to warrant IR and yet it is likely he'll miss some time here.

"The good thing is we have really planned for this. We've got some guys on the active roster that haven't even been active yet, some defensive linemen that we feel really strongly about and what they did during training camp. This might be their opportunity as well."

Defensive end Jamree Kromah and rookie defensive tackle Jayden Loving could be active for the first time this year after showing promise in preseason games.

Another possibility to help fill the void is second-year defensive lineman Shemar Turner. The 2025 second-round pick was added to the active roster Tuesday for the first time since he sustained a season-ending torn ACL last Oct. 26.

"[He's] a guy who plays with extreme edge, technique," said veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. "He's been hurt for a long time, but he's been working his tail off. He looks in great, incredible shape. He looks powerful off the ball and I think he's excited, whenever his number is called, to get an opportunity."

Bouncing back

The Bears defense will look to rebound after allowing the Packers to score 31 points and compile 428 total yards, including pass plays of 53, 50 and 46 yards.

"We're going to get right back on the horse and we're going to keep working," Johnson said. "We've got to have a great week of preparation. We've got talented players at all three levels. I know we're a little bit dinged up. The reinforcements will come when it's time. We've got a lot of talent, still, and so the expectation is that we play a better brand of football than what we've done.

"We've got a big challenge coming up in terms of the running game. This is an elite running game in the NFL led by a guy [in Bijan Robinson] that might be leading the charge for MVP right now. So that's first and foremost. And then of course we've got to clean up some of the issues we put on tape last week with the explosive plays. It's not going to be a talent-level issue or anything like that. We've got plenty of guys and now we just have to play together as one unit, all 11 on the same page and we'll take it from there."

Injury update

Johnson revealed that linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) is week-to-week and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is day-to-day (hip) with injuries they suffered against the Packers. Neither would have been able to practice Wednesday.

On the mend

The Bears have until next week to activate cornerback Kyler Gordon from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Gordon, who was sidelined with a calf injury since before the start of training camp, returned to practice Sept. 30.

"Our intent with Kyler from the get-go was to make it through these 21 days to make sure he's physically where he needs to be to help this football team," Johnson said.

Lights, camera, action

Johnson makes a cameo appearance in Hallmark's "Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story," which premieres Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Plus. He filmed his part alongside tight end Cole Kmet during the offseason at Halas Hall.

"The best part for me was just seeing another profession in their element," Johnson said. "I have a ton of respect for the lead actors and actresses and how they interacted, and then the director taking control. I thought it was pretty cool to see behind the scenes just how that all took place.

"Honestly, there's some similarities to what we do here in a lot of ways, just being able to choreograph a bunch of individuals on the same page. There's urgency, and yet you still want to see it all come together in the end. So, it was fun to watch."