INDIANPOLIS — As Tyson Bagent’s night at Lucas Oil Stadium came to an end Saturday, he left the postgame podium, darted back through the Chicago Bears locker room and headed for the team bus.

Bagent had a satisfying and productive 20-snap preseason cameo to process and enjoy — albeit in a 24-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. And as he rounded a corner and headed down a corridor on the lower level of the building, he was welcomed by a loud cheer.

A small group of family and friends was waiting, eager to congratulate Bagent on a night in which he led a 92-yard, second-quarter touchdown drive and scored in an NFL game. Not a bad little jump for a 23-year-old undrafted rookie who played his last of 53 college games for Shepherd University against Colorado School of Mines in the Division II playoff semifinals less than 9 months ago.

And now? With 10 days until the Bears put together their initial 53-man roster? Perhaps there’s a small opening for Bagent to dream about enhancing the fairy-tale climb he’s on with a late summer run at making the team.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus certainly seemed pleased with Bagent’s performance against the Colts, a 9-of-10 passing night for 76 yards over two possessions. Eberflus was asked directly whether there was still an open competition for the No. 2 quarterback job.

“I think everything’s open right now,” he said. “I really do. I think if you have a closed mind, then if somebody is rising or executing, (you’ll miss it).”

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Bagent was standing in the corner of the room when the coach declared that publicly. The rookie considered the qualities he has been pushing to show the Bears, hoping to convince the chief decision makers — namely Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles — that he deserves to stick around.

“I’d really like to make them as comfortable as possible with the thought of me in the game,” Bagent said. “Just really have them understand that any play that needs to be run, I at least know how to run it. Every play is not going to be perfect. But I know how to run every play in the playbook.

“That’s where I’m at, kind of working tirelessly. I know opportunities will present themselves. I try to be as ready as I can.”

Bagent also considered his 16-week NFL apprenticeship to this point and how it has somehow felt both totally normal and positively surreal.

“It’s everything I had planned for myself,” he said. “But then again, every day has been nothing short of amazing. I kind of catch myself pre-practice, pregame, pre-walkthrough just looking around. Just looking at certain individuals and pinching myself with how amazed I am that I am where I am.”

So about that touchdown Bagent scored to tie the game 7-7 just before halftime. It came with the Bears speeding up out of their huddle break and using a quick cadence to catch the Colts off guard.

The passing play was a mesh concept with Bagent’s first read being running back Roschon Johnson in the right flat. That may have been open too, had Bagent not juggled the shotgun snap. As he regrouped and moved up through the pocket, he noticed tight end Stephen Carlson was covered before pump-faking and breaking for the end zone. Bagent’s decisive dive across the goal line provided a fulfilling adrenaline rush and the chance for an end zone celebration — a Gronkowski-esque spike that came with equal parts aggression and jubilation.

“That was pretty cool,” he said. “Coming from college, you’re not allowed to celebrate like that. I’ve never even practiced a spike before. I thought it was pretty solid form. Everybody seemed to be pretty juiced up.”

That TD capped a 17-play drive that took 9:25 off the game clock and included two third-down conversions, including an 8-yard dart to Daurice Fountain on third-and-3 from the Colts 12.

“Tyson played great,” Fountain said. “He showed that he’s a true pro. I loved it. He was a great field general on that touchdown drive. He doesn’t look like a rookie to me. He doesn’t sound like a rookie to me.”

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Eberflus also took note of Bagent’s poise: “The delivery was there. The accuracy looked pretty good. The timing was nice. The decision making was pretty good. Those are all the things it takes to score touchdowns. And you saw it there.”

Bagent said that the only call he took immediately after the game was from his dad, who needed some clarity on where exactly to meet him on the stadium’s lower level. Bagent hadn’t checked his texts as he detailed his performance. His social media notifications remained on mute.

“I have to manually go see what’s going on whenever I have time,” he said.

If and when Bagent decides to dive a little deeper into his social media apps, he may discover he is suddenly the central figure in a Chicago campaign from a large group of Bears fans who want him to receive serious consideration for a heightened role in the quarterbacks room.

In reality, his current audition may more likely be for a practice squad job. At least initially.

As it stands, veteran P.J. Walker remains penciled in as the backup to Justin Fields, even with some inefficiencies in two preseason outings. The Bears punted on both possessions Walker led Saturday. Walker was guaranteed $2.01 million on a two-year, $4.15 million dollar contract in March. That financial investment — plus six years of experience in the league — gives Walker certain advantages in his bid for QB2.

Eberflus acknowledged that, noting there will be an ongoing on-field assessment, but adding the Bears will also weight each of their quarterbacks’ value as a resource to Fields.

“You definitely need that,” Eberflus said. “That’s always very helpful in the room. It’s comforting to the starter. When you have guys who know the offense and know the ins and outs of it, that’s an added plus.”

Still, as intriguing mid-August underdog stories go, Bagent is a perfectly alluring character and produced an attention-grabbing night. He’s handling his NFL arrival with a cool blend of moxie and equanimity. And at the very least, he has his coaches’ attention as they map out the immediate future.

Said Eberflus: “You never put a ceiling on any player. You always look for the best in every guy. And you’ll see guys where all of a sudden they get into a game and, man, they start rising up. It’s just easy for them. They can execute in those moments.”