Bears vs. Cowboys: Final score and highlights for ‘Thursday Night Football’

Mitch Trubisky threw for three touchdowns and ran in another as the Bears topped the Cowboys, 31-24, on “Thursday Night Football.” The team’s third consecutive victory puts them at 7-6 entering a crucial matchup against the Packers on Dec. 15.

Trubisky, coming off a three-touchdown effort against the Lions, delivered his best performance of the season. He did damage through the air and on the ground, posting a season-high 64 rushing yards to keep the Cowboys’ defense off balance.

Dak Prescott, once considered a potential MVP candidate, failed to keep up until garbage time as he finished 27-of-49 for 334 passing yards and one touchdown. 

The Bears’ season suddenly has become a lot more interesting again. Here’s how they took down Dallas for the Week 14 win.

Final score: Bears 31, Cowboys 24

Bears 31, Cowboys 24: Anthony Miller recovers the onside kick attempt for the Bears. That’ll do it.

Bears 31, Cowboys 24: After driving into field goal territory, the Cowboys kick a 31-yard field goal, but there are only eight seconds left on the clock.

Bears 31, Cowboys 21: The two-minute warning hits with the Bears preparing to punt it away on fourth down. The Cowboys don’t have any timeouts remaining.

Bears 31, Cowboys 21: In need of a first down to keep the Cowboys off the field and the clock moving, Mitch Trubisky finds Jesper Horstead for a 14-yard gain on third-and-9.

Bears 31, Cowboys 21: Here come the Cowboys late with Amari Cooper catching a 19-yard touchdown to complete a 10-play, 85-yard drive in just over three minutes.

Bears 31, Cowboys 14: Put into a first-and-15 hole by a false start penalty, the Bears end up going three-and-out midway through the fourth quarter.

Bears 31, Cowboys 14: A seven-play, 45-yard drive for the Cowboys ends on downs as they cannot convert fourth-and-4. Bears get the ball back near midfield.

Bears 31, Cowboys 14: The Bears’ pass rush forces Dak Prescott into an intentional grounding, so the Cowboys are looking at third-and-22.

Bears 31, Cowboys 14: TOUCHDOWN! What a response by the Bears’ offense and Mitch Trubisky, who runs it into the end zone from 23 yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the year to complete a four-play, 60-yard drive in less than two minutes.

Bears 24, Cowboys 14: On fourth-and-1, Ezekiel Elliott pounds it into the end zone for a touchdown.

Third quarter: Bears 24, Cowboys 7

Bears 24, Cowboys 7: Facing a crucial fourth-and-4, Dak Prescott hits Michael Gallup over the middle for a 21-yard gain to put the Cowboys on the move again.

Bears 24, Cowboys 7: Jaylon Smith, who’s been targeted by the Bears’ offense repeatedly, recovers a David Montgomery fumble to put the Cowboys back in business near midfield.

Bears 24, Cowboys 7: Another three-and-out for Dallas, and this one is punctuated by a Khalil Mack sack on third down.

Bears 24, Cowboys 7: Both teams trade three-and-outs on offense.

Bears 24, Cowboys 7: TOUCHDOWN! Anthony Miller battles his way in for a 14-yard touchdown to complete a 11-play, 84-yard drive to open the second half.

Bears 17, Cowboys 7: The Bears get an extra set of downs in the red zone thanks to a third-down holding penalty on the Cowboys’ Xavier Woods.

Bears 17, Cowboys 7: On third-and-9, Cordarrelle Patterson takes a screen pass 33 yards, all the way to the Cowboys’ 33.

Bears 17, Cowboys 7: Mitch Trubisky keeps using his legs to make plays, taking off three times in a row to gain a first down early in the second half.

Halftime: Bears 17, Cowboys 7

Bears 17, Cowboys 7: With 10 seconds left in the half, Allen Robinson makes a fantastic catch while covered by Jaylon Smith for a touchdown. Smith ripped the ball out of Robinson’s hands, but not before he came down in the end zone for a score.

Bears 10, Cowboys 7: Partially thanks to a Cowboys penalty, the Bears have converted three straight third downs to move into field goal territory in the final minute of the first half.

Bears 10, Cowboys 7: The Bears’ defense firms up after the big run and Brett Maher misses a 42-yard field goal to keep the home team ahead.

Bears 10, Cowboys 7: Ezekiel Elliott takes off for a season-high 31 yards to get the Cowboys right back into field goal territory.

Bears 10, Cowboys 7: FIELD GOAL! Eddy Pineiro hits from 36 yards to give the Bears their first lead of the game.

Bears 7, Cowboys 7: The Bears drive into the red zone but it stalls out after an apparent first down by Anthony Miller gets called back for a block in the back on Javon Wims.

Bears 7, Cowboys 7: Another three-and-out for the Cowboys’ offense.

Bears 7, Cowboys 7: Roquan Smith is out for the game after suffering a pectoral injury, the Bears announce.

Bears 7, Cowboys 7: TOUCHDOWN! Mitch Trubisky finds Allen Robinson over the middle for the 5-yard touchdown to tie the game with Eddy Pineiro’s extra point.

Cowboys 7, Bears 0: A tight end screen to J.P. Holtz goes for 30 yards to put the Bears back into the red zone on their second drive.

First quarter: Cowboys 7, Bears 0

Cowboys 7, Bears 0: The Bears’ defense responds in fashion by forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back to the offense.

Cowboys 7, Bears 0: And then disaster strikes as Mitch Trubisky tries to force one in near the end zone and it’s picked of by Jourdan Lewis, who made an impressive toe-dragging catch that was initially ruled out of bounds.

Cowboys 7, Bears 0: Mitch Trubisky showing off his duel-threat capabilities with some big runs and passes mixed together to get the Bears into the red zone. What a difference it makes when he’s willing to use his legs to soften up the defense.

Cowboys 7, Bears 0: Ezekiel Elliott finishes off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to give Dallas the early lead.

Bears 0, Cowboys 0: Leaning hard on their star running back, the Cowboys pushed into the red zone before converting another third down to put them inside the Bears’ 5.

Bears 0, Cowboys 0: The Cowboys have already converted a pair of third-and-short situations to move past midfield on the first drive of the game. Ezekiel Elliott has four rushes for 18 yards so far.

Before the game

The first matchup between the Bears and Cowboys in the Matt Nagy era is a big one. The two NFC playoff hopefuls face off Thursday night in a matchup that weighs heavily on their chances of reaching the postseason.

The Bears put some life into their dormant playoff aspirations by winning back-to-back games over the Giants and Lions to get back to 6-6. They’re still trailing the Packers (9-3) and Vikings (8-4) in the NFC North, but with games remaining against each of those teams, there’s still a chance for the Bears to play in January.

Starting Thursday with the Cowboys, those matchups won’t be easy, however.

Dallas hasn’t lived up to high expectations after an explosive start to the season, but it’s still in position to win a weak NFC East if it can finish strong. The offense boasts Dak Prescott, who leads the league with 3,788 passing yards, and Ezekiel Elliott, who’s just 10 rushing yards away from his third 1,000-yard season.

And the Bears will be without several starters, including Prince Amukamara, Danny Trevathan and Taylor Gabriel. A win Thursday over the Cowboys will take more than beating the likes of New York or Detroit.

Bears vs. Cowboys, Week 14

Time: 7:20 p.m. CT

TV: FOX, NFL Network

Live stream: FOX Sports Live, Amazon Prime Video