Giving thanks: Bears backup QB Chase Daniel wins in the Lions’ den

DETROIT — Backup quarterback Chase Daniel heard his cue Thursday. It was time to go play the Lions.

‘‘The guy said, ‘Let’s go, Bears, you’re running out of the tunnel,’ ’’ Daniel said. ‘‘I’m always in the front, so I turn around and I run three steps. And I look back, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ ’’

Daniel’s teammates didn’t run with him. Instead, they motioned and yelled at him to get back inside the tunnel. Even assistant equipment manager Carl Piekarski was caught barking at Daniel on camera.

‘‘And [I] just, like, put my head down [and] go back,’’ Daniel said. ‘‘Listen, it wasn’t nerves or anything like that. I’m sure it’s all over the Internet.’’

It is, but so is praise for his performance filling in for injured starter Mitch Trubisky on the road in the Bears’ third NFC North game in 12 days.

Daniel completed 27 of 37 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns for a 106.8 passer rating in the Bears’ 23-16 victory at Ford Field.

‘‘He deserves a lot of credit because he was a big part of this win,’’ coach Matt Nagy said.

It was an impressive performance by Daniel because it was his first start since Week 17 of the 2014 season with the Chiefs and because he had only walkthroughs this week to prepare for it.

The Bears didn’t have any full practices at Halas Hall coming off their victory Sunday against the Vikings at Soldier Field, then having to travel Wednesday to Detroit to play the Lions early Thursday.

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Sitting the starters in the preseason against the Chiefs and playing Daniel and other reserves turned into a helpful experience for the Bears, who have won five consecutive games, including three in a row in the division.

‘‘That’s really the only opportunity that he had to get reps that really meant something to him,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘To be able to have two walkthroughs — literally, he didn’t throw one route this week on time at full speed. He didn’t. Every route he threw was in a jog-through pace to these guys.’’

But that’s why you sign a veteran such as Daniel to back up your young starter. Daniel looked comfortable and confident running Nagy’s offense despite his minimal reps in it this season behind Trubisky.

Daniel’s 10-yard touchdown pass to running back Taquan Mizzell on a pick play with receiver Allen Robinson on first-and-10 in the last minute of the first half was an example of it.

“We added that touchdown literally [Wednesday] morning, the play that ended up being a touchdown to [Mizzell],’’ Daniel said. ‘‘We felt really good about our matchups on their linebackers with our running backs.’’

The Bears also should feel really good about what Daniel, who planned to host Trubisky and other teammates at his house for Thanksgiving dinner, means in the locker room.

He’s worth the two-year, $10 million contract they signed him to. It was an investment in Trubisky’s development but also in Nagy’s offense.

Daniel proved that by playing well in his third start in nine seasons. It’s a testament to Nagy’s coaching ability and offensive system but also to Daniel’s diligence and professionalism. He shut up the critics who look at his career earnings in the context of the scant playing time he has received in his career.

‘‘At this point in a career, it’s really, truly not about the money; it’s about the opportunities,’’ said Daniel, who also threw a

14-yard touchdown pass to running back Tarik Cohen and caught an eight-pass from receiver Anthony Miller for a first down.

“I felt really good about an opportunity with coach Nagy to help back up Mitch, to help groom him along. The job of a backup quarterback is to get the starter ready and to be prepared when your opportunity comes, and I feel like I do that pretty well.’’