Chicago Bears Offense Owes Newfound Stability To Silent Hero

The Chicago Bears offense has been a mess most of the 2020 season. Easily the weakest link of this team. However, it appears they've really started to pick things up in recent weeks. Granted a lot of that can be credited to playing some truly bad defenses. Yet fair is fair. They've executed much better. Much of that comes courtesy of the changes they made. Going back to Mitch Trubisky at QB. Switching to Bill Lazor as the play-caller. Yet the most important one might be the least talked-about. That was plugging Sam Mustipher in at center. Remember this kid was an afterthought when the season began. An undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame who'd spent most of his NFL career on the practice squad. However, things changed when Cody Whitehair and James Daniels both went down with injuries. This forced the team to plug him into that spot.

They clearly liked what they saw.

In his first career start against the New Orleans Saints, Mustipher helped the Bears scored 23 points and pile up 329 total yards with 96 on the ground. One of their best all-around performances of the season. Sadly a knee injury sidelined him for the next two weeks. During that time the team scored just 30 combined points against Tennessee and Minnesota. Two teams with pretty mediocre defenses. Coming out of the bye week, Mustipher got the center job back with Whitehair shifting to left guard. Since then the offense has scored 25, 30, and now 36 points. All while averaging 143 yards rushing. People can talk about the level of competition. Yet it's hard to argue things began to click so much better once the 24-year old stepped in.

Mustipher has a future in the Chicago Bears offense

People are probably wondering if this guy is so effective, why did he go undrafted? The simple answer is the draft is never perfect. Most believe it was his mixture of average size (6'2, 311 lbs) and limited athleticism. Despite starting three full seasons for Notre Dame and playing quite well, it was feared the bigger, more athletic defensive linemen would eat him alive in the NFL. Thus far that hasn't been the case. He's more than held his own. For what he lacks in physical traits, Mustipher makes up in tenacity, intelligence, and a natural feel for the position. He just knows what to do and doesn't make a lot of mental mistakes. Something that was a persistent issue with both Whitehair and Daniels when they took their turns at center.

Could this kid be the guy going forward?

It's a bit early to say for sure. He needs to show more in games before making that determination. That said, it's hardly unusual for undrafted offensive linemen to thrive in the NFL. The Chicago Bears offense should know this well. Jay Hilgenberg, one of the best centers of the 1980s and a member of the '85 team was undrafted. That isn't to say Mustipher will ever be him, but he has the capability to be a starter in this league.