DETROIT -- For most of the Thanksgiving Day game, Detroit Lions third-stringer David Blough proved to be the most effective quarterback playing at Ford Field.

But Mitchell Trubisky and the Chicago Bears (6-6) had the last laugh.

Trubisky led Chicago on a clutch, 90-yard scoring drive late in the fourth quarter that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown pass to David Montgomery as Chicago escaped with a 24-20 victory. Twice on the drive, Trubisky connected with second-year wide receiver Anthony Miller on long completions (35 and 32 yards) that set up the game-winning touchdown.

Once again, the Bears had to work incredibly hard to beat an inferior opponent, but Thursday’s win keeps their faint playoff hopes alive, and provides another boost of confidence for Trubisky, who’s played noticeably better the past four weeks.

The offense still has very bad moments, and the defense let Blough surprise them with two first-half touchdown throws.

But at least the Bears can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner knowing they’re back to .500 for the first time since Oct. 20.

QB breakdown: There are several plays Trubisky would like to have back. The 25-year-old quarterback inexplicably ran sideways when he had a clear path to a first down inside the red zone. And he was rightfully lampooned for it on social media after it happened. Trubisky later tossed an interception when Darius Slay jumped in front of a poorly thrown ball to Allen Robinson. But overall, Trubisky went 29 of 38 for 338 yards, three touchdowns and one interception -- and engineered the winning drive. The Bears will take that any day of the week.

Troubling trend: The Bears are so disorganized sometimes coming out of timeouts. Somehow, the Bears were called for an illegal formation right after a timeout on Thursday (and on the same play appeared to let the play clock run out but it wasn’t called by the officials). How does that happen? There have been far too many communication breakdowns this year. That has to be addressed in the offseason.

Pivotal play: The Bears were in deep trouble before Trubisky connected with Miller for 35 yards on third and 4 from Chicago’s 16-yard line. If the Bears don’t complete that play, they likely lose the game. After a slow start to the years, Miller -- drafted in the second round by the Bears in 2018 -- has come on strong as of late.