Bears' fifth straight win! Daniel, defense get it done over Detroit

Breaking down the Bears' 23-16 win over the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field:

Three moments that mattered

1. With the game tied 16-all midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears quickly went three-and-out, with quarterback Chase Daniel succumbing to a big third-down blitz and taking a 6-yard sack that helped flip the field in the Lions' favor. On the first play of the subsequent defensive series, Eddie Jackson recorded his second pick-six in as many weeks - and extended his NFL lead for return touchdowns by a defender to five - with an incredible anticipatory play to break in front of the Lions back in the flat and go 41 yards to the end zone.

2. In an offseason of glitzy additions, General Manager Ryan Pace's signing of Daniel to one of the biggest backup quarterback contracts in the league flew under the radar. But it paid off Thursday. On a short week, Daniel did a solid Mitch Trubisky impersonation by running the Bears' offense fluidly, finishing 27-of-37 for 230 yards and two TDs. He missed a few open receivers, including a would-be TD toss to Tarik Cohen, but played with poise in a potentially chaotic situation.

3. After Daniel missed Cohen on the wheel route for a touchdown in the first half, coach Matt Nagy dialed up a very similar play, resulting in a 14-yard, go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Like Nagy's pass-heavy game plan, it illustrated the confidence he has in his quarterback to answer the bell and give the defense the lead back.

Three things that worked

1. Responding to adversity. In a big letdown spot, the Bears did enough behind their backup quarterback to win. And with the defense not playing well early, the Bears' offense responded following both of Detroit's touchdowns with clock-eating drives ending in points. Once the offense dropped the ball, Jackson and Co. picked it up with another of the NFL's best playmaking defense's hallmark game-changing take-aways.

2. The symphony. After lamenting his coordinated pick-six celebration being a bit discombobulated vs. the Vikings, the Bears' 'D' was in tune as Jackson again led the symphony celebration - following coach Jackson's directions - to celebrate their game-winning touchdown.

3. Slamming the door. The Bears had allowed a league-leading 106 fourth-quarter points entering Week 12 and allowed seven more Thursday. But, with the game on the line, and after allowing two earlier red-zone touchdowns, Kyle Fuller picked off Matthew Stafford's third-down pass attempt in the final 70 seconds with Detroit knocking on the door of a tie game. Fuller and Jackson, Chicago's two best playmaking defensive backs, delivered in crunch time again.

Three things that didn't

1. Establishing the run. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Bears' traditional run game with actual tailbacks remains virtually nonexistent. Conventional wisdom said Nagy would look to feature Jordan Howard against the NFL's 24th-ranked run defense. Instead, Chicago dropped back 41 times compared to only 15 rushes in a game that was within one score all afternoon. However, the last run was the biggest: Cohen, with second-rounder James Daniels out in front, picking up 10 yards on third-and-9 to finish the game.

2. Stopping LeGarrette Blount. The Lions' pile driver entered Sunday averaging 2.3 yards per carry, but he carried three Bears' defenders into the end zone on each of his goal-line touchdowns. The Bears had allowed only one rushing touchdown by a back all season prior to suffering twice from Blount force trauma on Thanksgiving. Not known for his receiving prowess, Blount also picked up a key 15-yard reception after the Bears completely failed to account for him in the flat.

3. Trey Burton. He'd been pretty much as advertised for the Bears but struggled in Detroit, where he committed the Bears' lone turnover, a lost fumble that Detroit converted into its only touchdown, and had a key drop to stymie what was a promising drive into Lions territory to begin the second half. On the Bears' next possession, Burton's holding on a Daniel keeper negated a first down, sending the defense quickly back onto the field.

Look ahead

The Bears get the much-needed "mini-bye" prior to visiting the NFC East's last-place New York Giants, who won back-to-back games prior to playing the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday.