How about a Good Enough Nick? Foles does what needs to be done in Bears’ victory.

He bounces back from a rough start Thursday night to help the Bears beat the Buccaneers 20-19.

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Quarterback Nick Foles throws a pass while being pressured by the Bucs’ Devin White in the Bears’ 20-19 victory Thursday night.

Quarterback Nick Foles throws a pass while being pressured by the Bucs’ Devin White in the Bears’ 20-19 victory Thursday night.

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

There’s a home along one of my regular walks that has two faux street signs in front of the driveway: Rodgers Drive and Cutler Way. A house divided against itself cannot stand, but the power of the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers apparently is enough to make up for any structural problems caused by the Bears’ long history of quarterback defects.

I’ve asked myself why the homeowner hasn’t changed signs, hasn’t changed with the times. Why not Glennon Avenue or Trubisky Road? OK, that question answers itself. Still, there’s surrender, sadness and more than a touch of panic in a decision to stick with Jay Cutler as your driveway quarterback. A Cutler Way sign all but howls, “What if Jay’s mediocrity was as good as it’s going to get for the Bears?’’

It’s either that or a Cutler relative has a timeshare at the place.

I don’t sense Chicago is pining for a Nick Foles Boulevard. But he was good enough Thursday night in the Bears’ 20-19 victory over Tampa Bay and Tom Brady.

Maybe that’s the breaking news here. Maybe there won’t be as many quarterbacking mood swings with Foles as there was with Trubisky. Maybe we’re not in for a season of Good Nick or Bad Nick, the way we were with Mitch. Maybe it will be Good Enough Nick or Not Bad Nick.

He did enough late in the fourth quarter to set up Cairo Santos’ 38-yard, game-winning field goal. And the defense did more than enough to stop Brady in the final minute to give the Bears their fourth victory in five games.

“We just kept fighting, kept fighting,’’ Foles said. “Everyone just kept throwing punches. I’d say the big thing from tonight was we got to learn how to go through a fistfight like this and come out on top.’’

His numbers were nothing to get excited about — 30 of 42 for 243 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The victory was.

“The offense made plays when it had to, and I think that that’s one of the special traits that Nick has,’’ coach Matt Nagy said.

Lots of people had expected more than Foles had offered in his debut Sunday as Trubisky’s replacement as the starting quarterback. He wasn’t good against a terrific Colts defense, leaving a portion of the fan base wondering whether Nagy had been too hasty in benching the predictably unpredictable Trubisky. The short answer was no — Trubisky had had more than enough time to prove he was anything other than average. It was time to move on.

That’s why Thursday was so important. This was Foles’ chance — and Nagy’s — to prove to the doubters that the decision to move on from Trubisky was the right one. What would Foles do against a more reasonable Tampa Bay defense, a defense that seemed willing to work with an opposing quarterback?

When Foles overthrew an open Allen Robinson on a short pass on third-and-2 in the first quarter, it raised a red flag that could have covered a few floors of a Chicago skyscraper. The city had seen that kind of pass over and over from Trubisky. That wasn’t how it was going to be with Foles, too, right?

On the Bears’ next possession, he threw a catchable pass that Robinson couldn’t handle. Unfortunately for the Bears, Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis could. The interception led to Tampa Bay’s first touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Brady to Mike Evans and a 10-0 lead.

So far, we had a Bad Nick and a Not His Fault Nick. Surely a Good Nick was on the way. Uh, no. On the next possession, Foles was wide by about 10 yards on a deep pass to Darnell Mooney.

What’s Cutler doing these days? How’s his arm? Loose?

In the second quarter, I saw something I thought I’d never see with the Bears’ defense. Tampa Bay went for it on fourth-and-1 from its own 19-yard line. The Bucs must have thought that, if they couldn’t get the first down, their defense could stop the Bears’ offense, even it would be starting inside the red zone. Brady put his head down and got the first down. We’ll never know. Probably better that way.

Finally, right before halftime, just before uninvited fans descended on Soldier Field and took Foles away, he came alive. He completed seven straight passes, including a perfectly placed ball to Cordarrelle Patterson for 25 yards. It led to the Bears’ first touchdown.

Hold that Cutler thought for a second.

A nasty hit by Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller led to a Ke’Shawn Vaughn fumble at the Bears’ 27 and another shot for Foles. Four plays later, the Bears were in the end zone again, thanks to a one-handed catch by tight end Jimmy Graham. The Bears and their latest no-good so-and-so quarterback 14, Tampa Bay 13 at halftime.

This game wasn’t just a referendum on Foles. It was a referendum on Nagy’s play-calling, which hasn’t been good since 2018. Against the Colts, Nagy had reverted back to being a running-game renouncer, as he has been several times in his Bears career. Foles threw 42 passes against Indianapolis, a ridiculous number in a low-scoring game. David Montgomery needed to be more than a rumor against Tampa Bay.

He had 29 yards on 10 carries. Not good. But Foles did find him with a 17-yard completion late in the game to help set up Santos’ game-winner.

“That’s kind of what Nick has always done,’’ Nagy said.

The Bears had started the drive at midfield. At that point, Foles didn’t have to be Good Nick or even Good St. Nick. All he needed to be was Good Enough Nick. And he was.

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